


Sheila's Adventures

by Gamewizard2008



Category: Banjo-Kazooie Series, Codename: Kids Next Door, Super Mario Sunshine, Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, F/M, Friendship, Humor, Light-Hearted, Lightbending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 33,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24674512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamewizard2008/pseuds/Gamewizard2008
Summary: Sheila Frantic and her friends have adventures across various worlds! In the process, misadventures ensue! (While this story is canon to the Gameverse, it is purely written for fun and is not heavily connected to the main story.)
Relationships: Mason Dimalanta/Sheila Frantic
Kudos: 2





	1. Adventure 1: Isle Delfino!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sheila and her friends explore Isle Delfino on Mushroom World!

**I’ve always wanted to just write drabbles of Sheila running around and having fun in my favorite worlds. And you know what? I’m doin’ it! These will probably not be relevant to the main story in any way, I purely write these for fun and to make smiles. And we’re starting off from one of my favorite worlds from childhood, _Mario Sunshine_ ’s Isle Delfino!**

**https://www.mariowiki.com/images/0/06/Isle_Delfino_MAP.jpg**

****

**_

Adventure 1: Isle Delfino!

_**

****

One of Mushroom World’s most popular vacation spots was Delfino, named for its dolphin shape. As their plane was nearing the airport island, the first landmark the KND acknowledged was the volcano, a cloud of steam rising from it. There were a few beaches, a town on the dolphin’s nose, and a smaller island by the main land’s tail.

The plane docked at Sunshine Airport. As the KND were lining up to collect their belongings, Sheila Frantic was joyfully racing across the runway. “Oi, that bloomin’ took forever! Hurry up, Mason!”

“At least give me time to get our drinks, Sheila!” Mason shouted, hurrying after his Faunus friend. “Huff, man, it’s hot out here! I miss the plane already…”

“’ey, look at these people!” Sheila acknowledged the workers at the airport: they were chubby, colorful creatures with plants on their heads, grass skirts, and stubby hands and feet. “What’re all them plant thingies? Are they being mind-controlled?”

“That’s just how they look, Sheila.” Mason replied after catching up. “Those are Piantas. They’re native to this island. Anyway, let’s find a boat to take us to the island.”

The two walked to the airport dock and approached a Pianta captain beside a long red boat with a straw roof and several seats. “Ahoy there, folks! You kids traveling alone or is there a party with you?”

“Yeah, we have others with us.” Mason replied. “They’ll be here soon.”

“Oi, Mason, look!” Sheila pointed out to sea, seeing some people zooming around with propellers on their backs. “Blimey, they’re swimming so fast!”

“Oh, they’re wearing Turbo Packs.” The captain explained. “They’re popular toys, and some like using them more than boats. I have some right here if you like.” He pointed to a box of yellow propeller devices with water pumps.

No later did Sheila grab one and put her arms through the straps. “So, how does this-” She pressed her thumb to a button, and the turbo charged before blasting Sheila out to the sea. “Blu-u-u-u-u-r-r-r-rh!” She was submerged for a moment, but as she kept holding the button, the human-raccoon began bobbing up and down in the water, zooming with the speed of a motorboat. “Hah hah! THIS IS SO COOOOOOOOL!” Attaining control, Sheila swerved in snaky fashions, leaving a trail of waves. The joy in her voice echoed across the air.

“I’m gonna have to charge you for that.” The captain said to Mason.

“Awwwww.” Mason dreaded owing more to Carol.

The operatives’ first destination was Delfino Plaza, the main town of the island. The buildings resembled an Italian style, and canals ran through it. “Sheila! Where are you?” Mason called as he walked by a huge Pianta statue. As he approached a beach, he noticed a chubby raccoon woman and her child looking over something: it was Sheila, laying exhausted on her back.

“Look, Mama! This raccoon doesn’t have fur!”

“Oh, this is probably a human, Tani. She must’ve eaten a Raccoon Leaf and gotten a Power-Up. I guess she tried using it with a Turbo Pack to swim faster.”

“Strewth, Oi know a Tani!” Sheila suddenly jumped up, startling the family. “Oh blimey.” She fell over, her dry throat gasping.

“Sheila, there you are!” Mason rushed up. “Heh, did you ingest too much salt water?”

They were approached by April Goldenweek, who casually munched on a cracker as she looked over the captain. “Uh-oh. Her Juice Meter is extremely low.” April analyzed.

“Then I’d better fill her up.” Mason pulled out some Sunny D and poured it into Sheila’s mouth. A heart-shaped meter appeared as it filled up with yellow, flashing bright and pumping once it was full.

“Orright!” Sheila sprung back up again. “Let’s stop layin’ around and look around!”

Grabbing Mason’s hand, Sheila raced around the populace city of Piantas. There were some kids playing basketball with a pineapple and others playing kickball with a durian. They made their way to the center of town, a canal flowing through and some kids throwing water balloons in the sprinklers on the pavement. “Whoa, what’re all those things?!” Sheila was pointing at a towering gate, the signature landmark of the plaza. There was a golden, 8-point star with eyes at the top center of the gate, and many smaller “stars” gravitating around it.

_Landmark: SHINE GATE_

“I thought you’d come here first, Sheila.” Haruka said, her dress soaking in the sprinklers as she approached her brother and captain. “Those are the Shine Sprites. They’re the primary power source of the island. They’re abundant with Light Chi and are what give this island an eternal summer. The Shine Gate absorbs light from the sun and makes a light that attracts the smaller sprites.”

“Oi, have you been here before, Haruka?!”

“No, I… read the brochure?” Haruka held up said brochure.

“Those smaller Sprites actually came from the Delfinians themselves.” April explained, joining the group. “The Piantas can absorb the light into their head buds and then mold the light into glass containers shaped like the Sprites, giving the light a solid form. Their Shine Sprites are a symbol of their good will, and that goodness helps the Shine Gate flourish.”

April tipped her hat down, shadowing her eyes in a sinister fashion. “But if they don’t offer their Sprite, they’re considered to have no good will, and so their bodies wilt and die.”

The three shuddered at this dark revelation. “Wouldn’t that make a cool story?” April asked more lightly.

“You just made all that up?!” Mason asked.

“Well, the first part is true, but it’s not required by everyone, so there’s no curse.”

“If they’re made with people’s good will, I bet I can make that baby even brighter!” Sheila ran partway back through town, then began to race toward the center with building momentum. Dodging around all the Piantas, she leapt off the edge of the canal and used her tail to glide up the gate. Unfortunately, she fell short just before the top. Luckily, the inner borders of the right side were close enough for Sheila to Wall Jump, and she could set foot on the platform around the Shine Sprite.

“Hey, Haruka, is this a good idea?” Mason asked.

“Why not?” Haruka shrugged simply.

“Huuuuuuurrrrr!” Sheila pressed her hands to the Sprite, sapping its chi into her very veins. “Blimey, this Light Chi is insane! Hehe, I feel like me veins are about to explode!” She released and began to spin her arms like lightspeed wheels. Some of the smaller Shines floated toward her. “Hah, now they like me now! Try to catch me, Shinies!”

Sheila leapt off the tower and back on the street, keeping her fists sunny as she ran from the pursuing Shines. “Hey, what’re the Shine Sprites doing?” a man asked.

“Is she taking the Shine Sprites?” a woman asked.

“Hey, kid, what do you think you’re doing?!” a police Pianta shouted. “You can’t take Sprites from the gate!”

“Sheila, I think you should give them back!” Mason yelled.

“Ah, fine!” Sheila slid to a halt, arms still spinning as the Shines flew around her like comets, bashing the cops and knocking them over in the process. “I call this the Fist of the Delfino Sun!” When her massive Light Fists flew for the gate, the Sprites following, there was a fantastic explosion of light. From afar, one could see it took the shape of an enormous Shine Sprite, enveloping the town.

However, all the people around the Shine Gate were dizzied by the sunny explosion. Mason and Haru snuck Sheila away. “Well, if that isn’t a way to greet the island.” Mason said.

“Come on, Mason, let’s ditch this town and find another place!” Sheila yelled, grabbing her friend’s arm.

“But we haven’t even explored all of this town!”

“I wanna get me lay of the land first! We gotta look at them all ’fore I decide which one I like!” With her other hand, she pressed the button on her Turbo Pack. “So, let’s GOOOOO!”

“WAAAAA—gloop, glurg, guoff-guo-gueh!” Mason was flailing helplessly from Sheila’s grasp, flapping and being dragged against the seawater.

Sheila sped them to a harbor town, located on Delfino’s fin. A barrier of yellow ribbons blocked most of the coast, requiring Sheila to land them at the dock on the far side. She dropped Mason on the ground, the boy panting for breath.

Ricco Harbor was most defined by its construction site over the sea. The town and road were built against the cliffs, and there were sewer gates in the water to catch oil from the boats. “’ey, what is it they’re building there?” Sheila asked a Pianta.

“You see that giant bottle in the center?” The Pianta indicated the large, bottle-shaped structure, which was black with yellow rims. “That’s our Juice Cannon. We chuck fruits up into the top, they get minced up inside, and then it erupts like a volcano!” Looking closely, the kids saw several small objects flying up into the top from the town, likely the fruits in question, though some were missing.

“Okay, but what else are they building?” Mason asked. “The construction is still up.”

“Well, while it was still going on, a lot of kids started climbing and playing on it, so we left it as a playground.”

“WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IS THAT?!” Mason shouted in utter disbelief.

“Well, I wasn’t the carpenter! Anyway, the cannon’s about to go off, so you’ll be able to get a taste if you head into town.”

“That ain’t our style, mate! We’re goin’ all in!” Sheila rushed up a flight of stairs, and there was a hook moving to and fro between the top and a walkway of the “playground.” Sheila grabbed on and swung onto the scaffolding, with Mason hurrying after her. He noticed inflated, bouncy platforms floating in the water to catch people who fell. “Yahoo! Yahoo!” There were also trampolines for people to bounce to upper layers of the scaffolding, which Sheila was happily taking advantage of.

_Landmark: JUICE CANNON_

There was a trampoline ring that went around the upper middle of the cannon and was a fair distance away from it. Kids would be able to catch the juicy rain from here, but Sheila had other plans. She bounced the trampoline to get as high as possible, charging a Light Fist. She punched it directly down as the fist bounced against the trampoline, back up against her, and knocked herself up into the cannon’s hole. “Sheila, don’t go in there, you’ll get mulched!!” Mason cried.

_“Oi, get in here, Mason! It’s safe!”_

“Safe?” Mason bounced higher and flew up with a Gas Rocket. He dropped into the cannon and landed on a grated floor beside his friend.

“This grate thingy closed as soon as I fell in.” Sheila said, her voice reverberating within the enclosed shaft. “Must be a security mechanism.”

“Thank goodness. Anyone as crazy as you could fall in. Ow!” A pineapple hit his head. “Hey, they’re still throwing fruit!”

“When’s the cannon supposed to go off? Ow!” A pear hit Sheila.

But her question was answered when the structure began rumbling. A colorful geyser erupted up from below, blasting up through the grate and sending the friends to the sky. “AAAAAAAAAHHHH!” They fell toward the town, soaked in juice, but a large basket of fish served to break their fall. “Hee hee! It was nice of them to set up all these fishies!”

“Those weren’t meant for you!” the fisherman yelled. “I was waiting for the juice rain to give them flavor!”

“Mmm, they’re sure juicy, all right!” Sheila beamed as she casually munched the head off a fish.

“Can I have mine cooked?” Mason asked meekly.

“GET OFF MY FISH!” The Pianta grasped the teens and chucked them to the sky.

“WAAAAAAHHH!” His superb strength sent them even higher than the cannon. They flew far above Ricco’s cliff and the hills above it. “UUH!” And they crashed atop some sort of brick pavement. “Ow! I wonder if butt-busting is still popular, ’cause that one really hurt.” Mason said, rubbing the soreness.

Sheila was up again quickly, running to the fence of this structure. “Oi, what’s the harbor doing all the way down there?” When Mason joined her, they realized they were atop a tall, white wall situated on the steep hillside. They could see Ricco Harbor at the foot of the hill, Delfino Plaza to the left, and the sub-island amusement park in the distance. This white wall seemed to stretch along the hill to either side.

Sheila began to walk along the top of the wall, unphased by any fear of heights the steep hill could present. With Mason to join her, they could see a peaceful windmill village with white buildings, rivers flowing through it. The largest windmill tower was built at the highest, furthest point of the village. “The brochure says this is Bianco Hills.” Mason read. “Built in the safe seclusion of the island’s mountains, it has the least tourist attractions, making it one of the more peaceful areas on Delfino—aaaah!” When the wall curved, Mason nearly stepped off the edge, but caught himself in time. “Except walking up here is probably unsafe. …That windmill looks nice, huh Sheila? Let’s climb it, I bet we’d get a great view.”

“Nah, it’s just a windmill, mate.” Sheila said, scratching her nose.

“WHAT?! You’ve been climbing everything else since we got here!”

“I ’ave to carefully evaluate what things look cool to climb. So, does this town have anything cool or should we just slide down the hill?”

“According to the map, there’s a path to the west that leads down to Gelato Beach, as well as a northern path that cuts through the mountains to Pianta Village. What’s your pick, Sheila?”

“Hehe, you know I’m a beach raccoon!”

“You were certainly a beached raccoon earlier. Alright, let’s head there!”

The friends jumped off the wall and walked through the village. There were Piantas happily going about their business, and some were watering budded flowers. When the flowers bloomed, they sang a little melody. “Whoa!” When Mason and Sheila approached a flower, it puffed into a Pokey and tried to fall on them. “Back off!” Sheila scattered the spiky creature with a swift punch. “Heh, peaceful village my arse.”

The duo found a road between the cliffs, sloping downward as it led to one of the island’s shores. The path let out on a paved ground, and the first thing in their sights was a globe-like device mounted on the tip of a small tower.

_Landmark: SAND BIRD TOWER_

When the kids stepped around the tower, they could clearly see Gelato Beach, the sand white and crisp in the sunlight. There were blue, round creatures with duck mouths waddling around the beach, several small plants, and surfers out at sea. 

“This is the beach alright.” Mason read. The map had it marked on the stomach of the dolphin. “And that’s the Sand Bird Tower. Like the Shine Gate, it catches sunlight using that device at the top in order to warm the Sand Bird egg.” There was a glass display near the base of the tower with a large, sand-colored egg inside. “The Sand Bird is a sacred creature that hovers the skies of Delfino. Every year, it hatches, takes flight, rains fresh sand onto the beaches, and in the process lays another egg before it scatters away completely.”

“A bird made of sand? Crikey!”

“Yeah, and you see those mirrors?” Mason indicated the three giant mirrors built around the tower and tilting up at it. “They help direct the sunlight onto the globe. They keep them super clean every day, so we probably shouldn’t-”

“Whoa-ho!” Sheila had already slid down the hill and landed on one of the mirrors. “Heehee, I can get me one heck of a tan on this!” Sheila lay flat against the mirror, absorbing the full blast of sunlight. “Sun on me back, sun on me front!”

“Sheila, get off of that!” Mason yelled, sliding down to jump onto it as well.

“Haha, try to make me, Mason!” She excitedly began running around the large mirror. Mason tried to chase her, the mirror tilting in the direction of their weight. “Whoooaa!” Sheila lost balance a few times from the constant shaking. “Haha, this is a heck of a place to play tag on!”

“Whoooa!” Mason tumbled off the mirror and hit the grass-covered sand. “Oof!” Sheila landed on him.

“Fine, then let’s check out the beach!” She ran off. Mason straightened his stomach and paced after.

The duo found Melody Jackson standing over a small plant between some palm trees. “’ey, Melody!” Sheila cheered, dropping from the cliff. “’ow’d you get here so quickly?”

“I just swam around the island like you did.” Melody replied with a smile.

“Well, we took the long way.” Mason informed. “What’s this little tree?”

“Check it out.” Melody bent water from her bottles and watered the bud, which swelled up into a faced plant before becoming skinny and tall.

 _BOOM!_ Their area suddenly sunk into a foot-shaped crater. “WHOA! Did we shrink?!” Sheila exclaimed.

“No, we’re still normal sized!” Mason noticed. “But it looks like a giant just stepped on us!”

“Where is it?! I don’t see a giant!”

“There’s no giant.” Melody laughed. “These Dune Buds are around the beach. If you water them, the sand bursts into different shapes.”

“Cool!” Mason beamed. “Can you show us the other ones?!”

“Sure!” Melody led them around the beach and watered different buds. One burst into a turtle, propelling the friends into the air. One became a pyramid, another was a star, an igloo, and swirly mount, propelling them up at different angles.

“Haha, this is wicked!” Sheila cheered. “And what’re these weird things, anyway?” Sheila approached one of the round, duck-mouthed creatures. The creature waddled up, stuck its bill under her feet, and- “WAAAAH!” sprung her to the air as well.

“Those would be Cataquacks.” Melody confirmed. “They’re sensitive to anyone approaching and send them flying.”

“It feels hard to relax on this beach.” Mason inferred.

“You weren’t gonna relax hanging with her, anyway.”

“Case and point. Sheila, wait for me!” Mason ran to a Cataquack and allowed it to fling him up! “Wheeee! Wheeee!” He and Sheila allowed the quacks to fling them as they pleased.

“Look, a swing!” Sheila’s attention had quickly diverged to something else, so she landed and ran to the coast. There was a small island off shore with a swing hanging from a leaning palmtree. Sheila trudged the shallow water, reached the island, and balanced up the leaning tree in order to drop to the swing. “Mason, hurry up!” Rather than go up the tree, Mason went along the water, but the swing was too high to reach. Sheila had to hang down and pull him up; the swing was wide enough for both.

“Haha, no matter how old you get, you can’t get tired of swinging!” Mason said, grabbing his rope and Sheila’s hand.

“Let’s get as high as we can and launch off!” Sheila cheered. The two began to kick their legs front and back, the plank following their motion as it grew higher with each swing. Their conjoined kicks allowed them to go higher than the tree, their joy growing as wind brushed against their heads. “Ya ready, Mason?! We’re launching all the way to that park!” She pointed at the amusement park island.

“But we’re not even in trajectory of it.”

“Then we need a boost!” At the height of their back swing, Sheila pressed the pump of her Turbo Pack. Water blasted out, blew the swing forward, and launched her off with great momentum. Mason, still in her grasp, flew with her, the friends splashing in the sea as they were zooming toward the park. Bobbing like merpeople who didn’t know how to swim, they swerved around to the entrance of the island and made it on shore. The island was shaped like the tailfin of the dolphin, even though it only connected to the greater island underwater.

“Huff…huff…” Sheila gasped. “I’m outta juice again.” Mason opened a Sunny D and pumped her up. “Phew! WHOA, check those out!” Already, she rushed to the first attraction.

_Landmark: SUNFLOWER GARDEN_

There was a garden of sunflowers by the coast, but the most notable ones were the giant sunflowers with cute eyes and bright faces. Those sunflowers were a little taller than the teens, while there was an even bigger flower in the center, its face dark-brown. Furthermore, they recognized a familiar purple-skinned alien talking to a sunflower. “Hi, Mason, hi, Sheila.” Arianna greeted. “I thought I saw you two wash ashore.”

“Blimey, did you make all these flowers, Ari?”

“Yo, we’re the Sunflower Kids!” one of the flowers rapped cutely. “We like it in the sunlight, ya dig?”

“Yo, I like the sunlight, too!” Sheila cheered.

“The sunshine is very lovely today, isn’t it?” asked the Great Sunflower in a motherly tone. “Make sure to absorb lots of sunlight to grow big and healthy, children~”

“Here, I’ll help with that!” Sheila conjured a large Light Sphere and raised it above the sunflowers. The kids gazed at the miniature sun like an idol. Sheila grinned and swirled the ball around, droplets of light flying out like a sprinkler. The kids relished as the droplets seemed to tickle them, filling them with love and life.

“Say, where’s Vweeb?” Mason asked, wondering if he was hidden under the grass.

“He ran ahead to scout the park.” Arianna answered.

“We better not let him get ahead!” Sheila grabbed Mason and raced to the park’s gate.

Pinna Park was a colorful establishment with large boat swings, a merry-go-round, a roller coaster, and a big purple Ferris wheel. The two first approached the Yoshi-Go-Round, as all the seats resembled Yoshis. There were Noki children riding them; they were humanoid creatures with conchshell bodies. They noticed a pink Noki staring at a tiny blue thing on her Yoshi’s head: it was Vweeb.

“And after I took down the caveman giant,” Vweeb boasted, “the Amazons were so in love with me that they decided to exempt me from the ‘no men’ rule~. Of course, I had already won the heart of their empress before that~”

“If you’re that strong, does that mean you can pick up this Yoshi-Go-Round?”

“I sure can, kiddo!”

“Man, who’s he trying to impress?” Mason retorted. “…Sheila?!” His friend was now climbing a pink poll, up to some kind of rail.

“Oi, what’s this thing? It goes all around the park.”

“SHEILA, THAT’S THE-!”

The single car of the roller coaster was zooming up, the Pianta rider screaming at seeing Sheila. “WHOA!” The coaster rammed Sheila, but she clung to the front. “’ey, watch where you’re going, mate!”

“YOU’RE TELLING ME?!” the man yelled.

“What’s this little rocket thingy?” She acknowledged a red and white rocket in an attached cannon.

“This is for shooting the Bowser Balloons!” At this, Sheila noticed all the large, pink balloons floating around.

“Oh, cool! I wanna play!”

“GET OFF!” The Pianta blasted the water rocket at Sheila, sending her flying up to a high spire of the park.

“Sheila!” Mason ran past a Clam Cups attraction and followed a path up a hill. The road forked, one way leading to the Ferris wheel and another up a bridge. The bridge led to the roller coaster, where some Nokis were looking over Sheila’s drenched, crashed form.

“Young lady, are you okay?” a brown, elderly Noki asked. “How did you get stuck on that water rocket?”

“Sheila, you could’ve been hurt!” Mason ran past the Nokis and helped his friend up.

“Man, I survived worse than that, Mason. Hey, let’s climb that Ferris wheel!”

“Seriously?! That’s not much different from a windmill!”

“I’ll race ya!” Sheila giddily ran down the bridge and up the Ferris’s path. Ignoring the line to the wheel, Sheila ran up front and leapt on the roof of one of the carriages.

“Young lady, get off of there right now!” yelled the Noki woman managing it.

“I’ll get her!” Mason ran past and climbed on another roof. “Sheila, can’t you give me some time to catch up?!”

“Hee hee, why aren’t you drinking your Flurp, Mason?!” Sheila beamed from her higher position, sitting on her carriage roof with legs kicking.

“Huff, ’cause I’m trying to keep up…” Mason cracked open a soda can and drunk.

“Hm hm, thither is never a dull moment with thou~” Mason and Sheila looked as a redheaded angel fluttered up to them.

“Oh, hey, Fybi.” Mason greeted. “Yep, Sheila really knows how not to waste time.”

“Mason, look at that turtle-looking thing!” Sheila pointed in the center of the Ferris wheel’s building, seeing a large, sleeping turtle with an electric shell.

“I am told that is the wheel’s power source.” Fybi explained. “It emits a gentle electrical wave to keep the wheel in motion.”

“Hey, you’re a lightningbender, too, right? Fybi, I wanna go faster!”

“Art thou certain?”

“No, she is not certain!” Mason yelled. “Don’t listen to her, Fybi!”

“Just do it, Fybi, it’ll be fun!”

“If thou sayest so, Captain~” Fybi flew behind the wheel and above the Electro-Koopa. She molded her airbending to generate electricity, spreading it onto the Ferris. The wheel was suddenly building in speed, Mason and Sheila clinging tight to their roofs.

“WHOOOOOAAA!” Sheila couldn’t close her smile from the speed. “This is how you ride in style!”

“And how you throw up!” Mason cried.

The wheel was spinning faster and faster, beginning to shake. “Uh-oh! Mayhaps that is enough!” Fybi figured, stopping her bending.

Unfortunately, this didn’t stop the motion. The Ferris wheel grew a monstrous face and detached, staying afloat in the air. _“YUSH! Now I’m finally free! See ya later, suckers!”_ The Ferris faced up at the sky and flew away. The riders were being flung off into the ocean, but Mason and Sheila still held on as it flew across the island.

“SHEILA! I’M GOING DOWN!” Mason let go.

“MASOOOON!” Sheila fell after him.

They splashed in the ocean somewhere close to the island’s back, resurfacing as their hair hung over their eyes. “Haha, best Ferris ride ever!” Sheila cheered, uncovering her eyes. “Whoa, look where we are!”

The friends landed close to Noki Bay, a towering cliffside with ruins along it and towers with shell tops. A waterfall was pouring from the cliff, pouring directly over an underwater, cone-shaped spire with an open top. “Mason? Sheila?” Melody swam up to them. “Did you two just fall from the sky?”

“How’d you get all the way over here?!” Sheila asked.

“I’m a really fast swimmer.” Melody replied simply. “There’s supposed to be an underwater city, so I wanted to check it out.”

“Whoa, where’s that?”

“It’s right under where the waterfall pours into. Let’s go see.”

“’ey, we’re doing this the right way! Let’s climb to the top and dive in!” Sheila climbed onto one of the platforms, skipping across the others. She hopped up the stairs going around a shell tower and set foot on the cliff from there. “Hm?” Sheila discovered a square stone with a swirly symbol in the wall. “An ancient relic?”

After Mason and Melody caught up, the former studied the brochure. “Oh, these are special seals that hide paths in the cliffs. The Noki spray water on them so they open.”

“How about light instead?!” Sheila spun her fist and PUNCHED the square powerfully! “…OW!” Her fist left no dent, but pain coursed through her. “What’s this thing made of?!”

“Magic protection spells?” Melody smiled knowingly. “Better let me handle it.” She splashed water over the tablet. The cliffs shook as part of them seemed to recede, making a Wall Jumpable path.

“Good on ya, Melody!” Sheila kicked up the path and reached the upper cliff. She continued along- “AAAAH!” A green cuckoo bird suddenly sprung out of the wall and nearly pushed her off, but she grabbed onto the edge.

“And that would be a Hatopop.” Melody read as Mason helped his captain up. “They’re traps that are set around the cliff. The Noki are really set on protecting their ancestral home from invaders, so you can imagine why not many tourists come here.”

“Well, no cheap bird traps are gonna stop me!” Sheila marched forward determinedly. “AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!” A punching glove shot out of the ground and blasted Sheila out to the sea.

“There’s also gloved variants.” Melody informed.

The two waited for Sheila to climb her way back up, and from there were more careful in climbing the cliffs. They were finally at the top of the cliff near the waterfall, and there was a part jutting out, likely meant for diving.

_Landmark: NOKI FALLS_

“Well, Mason,” Sheila began, leaving her sandals on the ground, “in times like these, we have to call upon the ancient tradition of, GERONIMOOOOOO!” Sheila dove into the waterfall with no regrets!

“You heard her, Mason. GERONIMOOOOO!” Melody dove in excitedly.

With a laugh, Mason left his shoes and dove after the girls. The waterfall pushed them into the spire: darkness engulfed them for a moment, but not long before hundreds of glowing lights gave life to the undersea civilization. Nokis were blissfully going about their business, some riding jellyfish to get around. “Welcome to Noki Temple, I guess!” Melody announced, using her bending to give her friends air bubbles. “Not many tourists can tolerate the air down here, so you’re lucky to have a waterbender handy.”

“You’re not wrong there.” Mason replied. “But at least these people wouldn’t have to worry about-”

“WHAT IS THAT?!” Sheila reacted to a huge fish of golden scales, though some of them were red.

“The legendary Coin Fish.” Melody was quick to read. “The treasure of the Noki people, its scales can be picked and used for currency. However, the catch is that-”

But Sheila had already swum to catch up to the coin-coated fish. She yanked off one of its gold scales, and all the scales immediately burst off and scattered around the temple. The Coin Fish retreated into a cave. “Sheila!” Melody yelled. “I was going to say you had to pick off the red scales first, or all the scales would scatter everywhere!”

“I was only going to take one!”

“Hey, that beaver lady scared the Coin Fish!” a Noki kid yelled.

“Darned tourists, stay on the surface!” a man shouted.

“Okay, time to go.” Mason ushered. “This ‘air’ is getting heavy, in more ways than one.”

The teens returned to the bay, embracing the fresh air. “Wait, we left our shoes all the way up there!” Mason realized.

“And I keep my sandals in my Infi-Cube.” Melody remarked. “Not my problem.”

“Well, we need you to get us up there!”

“Fine…”

“Don’t worry, Mason, I was wanting to explore up on the mountain, anyway!”

After returning to the cliff and reclaiming their shoes, Melody bent some of the water from the falls over. She shaped it into a stairway and froze it, allowing the duo to step up. “Be safe up there!”

“We’ll try!” Mason cheered.

He and Sheila trekked up the steep, grassy mountain. They could see the island’s volcano in the distance, but as the hill began curving more stably, the enormous leaves of a towering tree began to show. “Whoa!” Sheila nearly fell off a cliff. “Whoa, what’s that place?!”

That tree was growing from the center of a village built over a gaping chasm. In fact, the tree was growing from the cliffside within the chasm, and it seemed to be the only thing holding up the village’s island. There were smaller, but still large trees leaning over the corners of the island. The houses were all huts, there were large mushrooms growing, and Piantas were the inhabitants. “Ah, then this is Pianta Village!” Mason deduced. “Heh, we took quite the detour to get here! See, the map says we were supposed to come from Bianco Hills, that way.” Mason pointed rightward: there was a bridge leading across the chasm and toward a path going into the cliff. “Let’s go over there and cross safely.”

“Wow, there’s even clouds up here!” Sheila leapt off the cliff and onto a fluffy cloud. There were two other clouds.

“SHEILA!”

“Relax, Mason, they’re Island Clouds!” Sheila lied down and rolled around the fluff. “Didn’t expect them to be this low.”

“Darn it, how’re you going to get back up?! There’s not enough room to build speed and the village is too far to float to!”

“Then get down here and fly me up yourself!”

“I’m afraid my gas will conk out before we make it!”

_“Heeeeeeeeeey! Masoooooooon! Sheilaaaaaaa!”_

They could faintly hear a voice calling across the chasm. Sheila leapt up to the highest cloud and viewed across, squinting her eyes. She could make out a figure waving to them from the village’s edge. “OOOOOIIIIII! MAKAYLA!” Sheila bellowed for the timebender.

“What?! MaKayla’s here?!” Mason asked.

“Ha ha!” MaKayla laughed. “I saw you guys at Gelato Beach before heading up to Bianco Hills! I came here afterwards, but I didn’t expect to see you over there!”

“That’s the beauty of adventures!” Sheila cheered. “Hey, can you Rewind me back onto the cliff or something?!”

“Wait, I have another idea!” MaKayla drew out the Chrono Staff and stuck it in the ground before her. “Get ready for an early Fluff Festival!” A bubble of Time Chi enveloped the whole village and chasm as MaKayla willed the very date to change. Before everyone’s eyes, giant dandelion spores drifted about the village. Some of the fluffy spores flew over to Sheila’s clouds. She grabbed onto one, and a gust of wind carried it over to the village.

Mason, meanwhile, ran along the cliff to reach the bridge leading to the village. He joined up with Sheila and Kayla. “Wow, Kayla! How’d you make all these dandelions appear?!”

“April 24 is when Pianta Village holds the Fluff Festival.” MaKayla explained. “Dandelions grow throughout the year before becoming giant fluffs and floating across the town on that day. I used my bending to change it to that date.”

“I didn’t know you could do that!” Mason exclaimed.

“I can change the time of day or year over any area, but it’ll fix itself back to normal. I can keep it this way for now, if you want.”

“Heck yeah!” Sheila cheered. “Hehe, it might as well look beautiful while we’re exploring!”

_Landmark: THE PIANTA TREE_

While the locals were questioning why the fluffs were suddenly in bloom, Mason and Sheila were climbing the purple trunk of the central tree. There were thankfully footholds situated around the tree to help them rest. The highest platform had another swing hanging from one of the large leaves. Mason and Sheila exchanged a look and grinned!

Both friends sat their selves on the swing and begun kicking to and fro. A rush of adrenaline coursed through as they were swinging far higher than the swing at Gelato. Once they were level with the tree’s great leaves, they leapt off and grabbed the slope of one. They brushed their hands frantically to attain a good grip, but only Sheila managed to do so, grabbing Mason and helping pull him onto the spine of the leaf. “Blimey, this thing’s frickin’ hard!” Sheila stomped her foot. “This leaf feels like floor!”

“Man, this must be the highest point of the island, except for that volcano. How old is this tree, anyway?”

“Mason, let’s go slide down this one!” Sheila ran up the leaf, sat down, and slid along the spine. “Wheeeeee!”

“Wheeeee!” Mason slid after. Sheila went off the edge and used her tail to soften the fall, Mason doing the same with a Gas Rocket. They landed near the hot spring, the water flowing from the nose of a Pianta statue. “Hey, look, it’s Carol!”

“Hm?” The puffy-haired girl glanced over, only her head visible above the spring. “Ah, Maseyfairy! I was hoping I’d get to share this tub with you~”

“Count me in!” Sheila leapt and splashed in the tub.

“Well, my clothes are already wet, anyway.” Mason shrugged, climbing in as well.

It was probably the most relaxed they’ve felt since they got here. It felt odd to Mason to see Sheila quiet and composed, as if she had finally worn herself down. Sheila was always the most excited on sunny days; even as a lightbender, she adapted to sunlight more excitably than anyone, like she were a solar-powered machine. And in a sunny environment abundant with Light Chi as this, Sheila was happier than ever.

“Heh, you all tuckered out, Sheila?” Mason asked.

“You kidding? There’s still plenty of day to go!”

“I hope you haven’t broken anything.” Carol said.

“About that… we may need to borrow some money.” Mason blushed.

“Oh, Maseyfairy, so irresponsible.” The rich girl shook her head. “Very well, I’ll take my shoulder massage in advance.” She floated over with her back to Mason. “Go on~”

“Oh, gee.”

_“Everyone, watch out! A Red Chomp got into the village!”_

Hearing commotion, the kids climbed out, peeping over the spring’s fence. There was a large, red Chain Chomp, boiling with heat. “I heard those things come from the volcano and wander over here.” Carol said. “This could be bad.”

“We’d better cool that baby down!” Sheila was already rushing to the scene. The Chomp was dragging a chain along, and the very end of it seemed the least heated. “Got ya!” She grabbed the chain and began dragging the beast through the village with her amazing strength. Heading straight for the spring, Sheila mustered the power to haul the Chomp overhead via the chain, and splashed it into the spring. The Chomp cooled down, steam emitting off its form as it turned a solid gold. “There! The town is rescued!”

“GAAAAH!” The spring owner screamed. “Darn it, kid, we have hoses to stop these things! You ruined my sauna!”

“I wasn’t done enjoying it! Dry me off, Mason!” Carol demanded.

After Mason fulfilled her demand, Mason and Sheila explored the village further. “’ey, what’s that big mushroom?” Sheila climbed up some wood steps to reach a large gold mushroom, which stood out from the rest.

“The brochure says this mushroom produces gold dust at night, which the Piantas collect for food.”

“Strewth! I want some o’ that! Hey, Kayla!”

“Yeah, Sheila?” Kayla called up.

“Use your bending to make it night!”

“Whatever you say, Captain!” MaKayla mustered her power again: the Fluff Festival disappeared as night covered the village. The gold shroom began raining gold dust.

Sheila leapt up onto the mushroom and Mason joined. “Whoa, this feels so soft and weird!” Sheila brushed her feet around the dust, scooped some in her hands, and threw it above them.

“Heheh, it looks like Pixie Dust!” Mason joked. “Cough!”

Sheila licked some off her hands. “Aye, that’s sweet alright. Can we find some food to put it on?”

“There’s a fruit tree over there.” Kayla pointed.

The duo went to a shroom-shaped tree with different fruits on it. They sprinkled the dust on some bananas and took a bite. “MMMMMM! Sho goooood!”

They decided to fill their selves with fruits, rejuvenating their selves before resuming the exploration. “What’s down here?” Sheila leapt into a hole, landing on a wood grate. After Mason joined her, Sheila Ground Pounded the grate’s panel, flipping it over.

_Landmark: VILLAGE UNDERSIDE_

“AAAAH!” Mason cried as they were suddenly hanging for their lives over the vast chasm. It seemed a path of wooden grates were hanging all around the underside of the village. A chilling wind tickled their skin.

“Whoa, what’s all this for?!” Sheila asked, happily climbing along.

“Sheila, we need to get back up!” Mason yelled fearfully, trying to push up against the panel. “Grr, I can’t! HEEEEEELP! MaKayla, somebody, help uuuuus!”

“There’s another swing, Mason!” Sheila pointed. “Come on!” She dropped from the grate and landed on the swing suspended over the chasm.

“What’s the point of this area?!” Mason cried. With a fearful moan, he clambered above the swing and dropped. “Guff, w-wh-waaaah!” He nearly fell off, but Sheila caught him.

“Look, we can swing to those mushrooms!” Sheila pointed to the giant mushrooms growing from the trunk of the Pianta Tree. Holding hands, the two began to swing once more, though Mason didn’t feel nearly as excited at this awful altitude. Sheila, meanwhile, seemed to feel way more excited. “Yahooooo!”

“Whoooa!” They flew forth and landed on a shroom cap. Sheila ran ahead, leaping the trail of mushrooms. There was a green mushroom sat on the end shroom. “YOOOOO!” Sheila went flying as the mushroom bounced her like a trampoline, and Mason bounced after. The two landed on the cliff, from which the bridge connected to the village.

“Man, that was close.” Mason sighed. MaKayla’s bending wore off as the night returned to day. “So, you wanna head back in or you wanna go back to Bianco?”

“I wanna go up here!” Sheila once again climbed up the cliff and onto the mountaintop.

“Way to stay off the beaten path.” Mason said, following her.

The two crossed along the mountain, following a route back to Delfino Plaza. On the way, Sheila found a wide gap in the ground: inside that gap was a lush garden of tall grass and palm trees, as well as orange, block-shaped ruins.

_Secret Landmark: PARADISE GARDEN_

“Wow, Sheila! I think we discovered a secret place!”

“Mason, Sheila! Fancy seeing you again!” Arianna waved from the garden.

“DARN IT, ARI!” Sheila yelled. “We were about to find this place first!”

“I’m… sorry?”

“So, whatcha doing here?” Mason asked as they dropped into the garden.

“I heard from a researcher that this secluded garden is home to the Red Bird of Happiness. Hu, there it is!” Arianna pointed to a red bird soaring around the garden.

“What’s so special about a li’l red bird?” Sheila asked.

“Because it lives happily in this peaceful garden, undisturbed by man for decades! It’s a symbol of bliss that this garden-”

“Snipe!” A laser shot the red bird from the grass, the animal crashing down. “Haha! No bird is safe from these tiny eyes!” Vweeb boasted.

“VWEEB!” Arianna yelled in rage. “You just shot the Red Bird of Happiness!”

“Relax, I used the Stun feature. I’m a good sport!”

“Ugh.” Ari bent one of the grass blades to grab Vweeb and squeeze him in place. She hurried up and lifted the bird in her hands. “Oh, its wing is bruised. How could you?”

“Yeah, Vweeb, you can’t just shoot whatever you want when we’re exploring.” Sheila scolded.

“YOU’RE ONE TO TALK!” Mason shouted in aggravation.

“By the way, I don’t suppose you two have been to the hotel, yet?” Arianna asked.

“Huh? Oh, we haven’t, actually.” Mason checked the map. “On Sirena Beach, right?” Said beach was adjacent to Gelato Beach on the west.

“Yes.” Ari replied. “I thought you might’ve seen it from Pinna Park.”

“We’ll check it out in a bit!” Sheila strapped the Turbo Pack and grabbed Mason’s hand. “Time for another swim, Mason!”

“Awww…”

After zooming along the sea once again, the duo arrived at Sirena Beach, defined by the hotel at the back of it. There was a pavilion where Nokis and Piantas were relaxing on recliner chairs. With twilight curtaining the sky, the beach was covered in a pleasant atmosphere. “Yaaaaawwwwwn.” Sheila moaned.

“You really are tuckered out, aren’t ya?” Mason laughed. “And we still have another day here.”

“Yawn, I just wanna lie down for a minute…”

“Sure ya do, Captain. Come on, let’s check in.”

_Landmark: HOTEL DELFINO_

Hotel Delfino possessed soft lighting, and they could feel relaxed in the very air of this building. “Oh, April!” Mason beamed as the artist came out of the girls’ restroom. “I see you made it okay.”

“Well, I did use a boat like normal people.” she replied tonelessly. “I’ve been investigating this hotel. There’s a lot of hidden passages.”

“Hidden passages?” Sheila asked.

“Come in and see.” April led Sheila into the restroom, indicating the water dripping from the ceiling in the back. Sheila stepped on the toilet and leapt up through the water.

“Wot?!” Her head emerged above a tub in someone’s bathroom.

From outside, Mason watched as Sheila’s whole body was sucked up through the ceiling. He rushed in and jumped up as well. “Whoa, how did we get here?!”

“Oi, you can’t expect privacy in this place.” Sheila said, stepping through a painting of a beach. Mason climbed after, ending up in another room.

“YAAA!” yelled the Noki woman inside. “Where did you come from?!”

“Your wall.” Mason answered.

“GET OUT!” She kicked them out the door.

April was already there to meet them. “According to rumors, every so often, a portal to the Ghost Zone appears at the top of this totem.” She indicated the pole in the center of the hotel, stretching up from the first to the 3rd floor. A circular, pointed light covered the ceiling directly above the pole. “I hope to be around when it opens.”

“Yaaaawn, let us know how that goes.” Mason yawned. “Sheila, our room should be up here.”

They went up to the 3rd floor and unlocked their designated room. Sheila fell out of her sandals and onto the comfy, cozy, two-person bed. “Aaaaaahh. An adventurer’s bones are the most frail thing, mate~”

“Heh, I doubt that. Sheila, you’re still wet, take a bath first.”

“I’d just get wet again, mate.”

“Good point.” Mason changed out of his soggy clothes and fell in beside her.

“Hehe!” Sheila laughed at the little bounce he made. “Well, Oi still have a bit of energy!” She got up and began jumping on the bed. “Haha! C’mon, Mason, get up here!”

“Sheila, I’m tiiirrrred…” He moaned between the bounces.

“I’m gonna jump on you if you don’t jump!”

“Uh-oh.” Not wanting his bones to break under her feet, Mason got up. “Hahaha! Hahaha!” The friends bounced in circles around the bed, messing up their blanket. “And touchdown!” Mason landed firmly on the floor- “WHOOA!” The panel flipped and dropped him into the lower room.

 _“YOU AGAIN?! GET OUT!”_ The Noki kicked him out again.

Mason dragged himself back up to their room in pain. “This place needs repairs.”

Sheila lied back down as Mason joined her. They got under the blanket, growing even sleepier under its warmth. Their muscles becoming relaxed and still, Sheila put an arm over Mason. “Ahhhhh…thanks for havin’ this adventure with me, Mason.”

“Any time, Captain. And to think, this is only the first island of Mushroom World.”

“Oi can’t wait for the rest~”

“Me neither…”

Pleasant dreams welcomed the sleeping pair. While a day with Sheila was always a crazy one in Mason’s life, the end of it was just as rewarding: a comfy, cozy bed with the best friend of his life. But as soon as the sun was peeking over the horizon, Sheila would be the first to know. And Mason would find himself being shaken awake for the next adventure.


	2. Adventure 2: Prism Island!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sheila and the KND explore Prism Island, a colorful island of paint on Mushroom World!

**Concluding her Delfinian adventure, Sheila rewards Isle Delfino with a shining 10/10, calling it a beauty of an island with loads of fun things to do, things to climb, and water so clean that you’ll be swimming around the island for hours! But as the KND board the _Sunny Day_ , they’re off to their next destination on Mushroom World, the colorful setting of _Mario: Color Splash_! Here’s a map to find your way around!**

**https://www.mariowiki.com/images/6/6c/Prism_Island_Map.jpg**

****

**_

Adventure 2: Prism Island!

_**

****

Prism Island was shaped like an enormous paintbrush, its six regions distinctly color-coded like a palette. The colored landscapes would be very distinct from the sky, but since the KND were sailing on the _Sunny Day_ , they had only their map to look at. Not that Sheila was paying attention to it as her excited eyes were drawn left and right rapidly.

“Look, Mason, there’s a beach over there!” Sheila pointed left. “Let’s go there first!”

“That’s probably Bloo Bay Beach.” Mason read.

“Wait, what’s that purple-looking place over there?” Sheila viewed right, seeing purple ground above a cliff. “That looks cool!”

“That’s Plum Park. We can get there from-”

“Oi, look at that big ol’ mountain!” Sheila pointed at a yellow mountain near the park. “I bet the view up there is great!”

“We haven’t even landed and you’re already excited.” April giggled. “I thought you would love this place. You can guess why I did my training here during the Voyage.”

“You did training?” Sheila asked with a raised brow. “You ain’t get stronger at all.” She pinched the skin of April’s arm.

“Ow!” April flinched off. “It wasn’t strength training, it was art training. I upgraded my Hypno-Paint and learned how to-”

“Finally, there’s the port!” Sheila jumped. “It’s time to explore Prison Island!”

“It’s called ‘Prism’ Island.” Mason corrected.

“That’s what I said.”

“No, it’s with an ‘m’, Sheila.” April explained. “It’s named for a kind of glass that refracts light into colors like a rainbow.”

“I bet ya a lot of prisoners get brought here by accident.” Sheila remarked.

“Well… yeah, actually.”

There was a long bay on the west side of the island, which is where the ship sailed into. At the end of the bay was Port Prisma in the center of the island. There were mostly Toads populating the town, but as the kids expected, Inklings were here, too. Hopping off the boat, Sheila raced across the port and up the stairs to the town square.

_Landmark: PRISMA FOUNTAIN_

A wide, round fountain took up the center of town, made of six colors: red, blue, green, yellow, orange, and purple. There were six stars of the respective colors over pedestals, channeling their paint into the fountain. Although the fountain had no inside borders, the colors were nicely separated like a pie chart. Sheila’s nostrils were already hit with the smell of the magical paint. “Oi, they really need to clean that fountain. I can’t splash around in that!”

“It looks like the loading symbol on a Mac computer.” Mason commented.

“It’s supposed to look that way, silly.” April laughed. “Like the Shine Sprites on Delfino, Prisma Fountain is the source of the island’s lush colors. It brings life to the island’s natural paint. And these six Paint Stars are the source of this fountain.”

Sheila saw some Inkling kids drinking from the fountain. “Well, if it’s natural!” Sheila skipped up and dipped her mouth in the paint. “!!! PLEH!” She spat it out instantly. “BLIMEY, THAT’S HORRIBLE!”

“Sorry, Sheila.” April strolled up to the fountain. “But unless you’re a master artist, only natives of this island can appreciate the taste of paint.” She dipped a cup in and took a pleasant drink. “Ahhhh.”

“How does being a master artist allow you to swallow paint?!” Mason shouted. “You would get poisoned either way!”

“Anyway, you shouldn’t splash in it either way, Sheila.” April tipped her hat down, her eyes turning dark. “This fountain has a curse. If you stir all the colors together, it’ll create the Black Paint Ztar. And the Black Paint will absorb all the colors on this island, reducing it to ruin.”

“You like to add dark stories to fun places.”

“Yeah, but it’s true this time. I read it in a book. Plus, Bowser did it once, sometime after the Firstborn Quest.”

“Oh, dear. In that case, better not mix it up, Sheila.”

“Like I want me feet dipped in gross paint, anyway. That’s April’s thing, not mine.”

“That much is true.” April acknowledged. “So, do you want me to be your tour guide? I know basically every landmark on the island.”

“Hurry, Mason, let’s get a headstart on everyone!” Sheila dragged her friend by the arm and raced out the town gate.

“This isn’t a race, Sheila!!”

April giggled at their enthusiasm. “I’ve got my own date to get to, anyhow~”

With many directions to go, the friends first headed north to Ruddy Road. It was a paved red road winding around a grassland, and because Sheila felt compelled to stay within the road, it took a bit longer to cross the field than it should have. “We’re kinda going against the Wizard of Oz’s philosophy.” Mason said, almost getting whiplash from Sheila’s constant turning.

“’ey, there’s a place up there!” Sheila pointed, rushing up a hill.

_Landmark: RUDDY CAFÉ_

Shy Guys were sitting at tables and happily enjoying coffee. There was a Toad managing the stand. “Howdy, travelers! You kids look like tourists if I ever saw some.”

“Yah, we really stand out, don’t we?” Mason asked. “You got anything other than coffee?”

“How about some Ruddy Cake?” The Toad brought up two slices on a plate. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like paint. We’ve also got cherry-flavored water fresh from the lake.”

“Sign me up!” Sheila beamed. They took a table and enjoyed the lovely view: not far from here was Cherry Lake, which had boarded walkways and waterwheels to keep the lake clean and pure. As they tasted their cherry water, they could feel that purity. “Hee hee, they need cafés in the middle of nowhere more often!”

“It’s not exactly nowhere.” Mason replied. “But actually, there’s cafés like this all around the island. We have to try and find them!”

“Hehe, no doubt! Let’s go swimming in that lake!” Sheila jumped up and raced downhill.

“I thought you would.” Mason hurried after.

The grass around Cherry Lake was a lush red. The waterwheels scooped and filtered dirt out of the lake and there were tables and chairs for people to chill. Unsurprisingly, they found Cheren and Panini sitting on chairs, drinking cherry water and admiring the sight. “Wow, so the first place Cherry goes is Cherry Lake, how surprising.” Mason commented.

“Ay, this boy practically gravitated to it.” Panini said.

“Hey, if they name a lake after you, you’re obligated to see it.” Cheren remarked.

“This was probably here way before ya!”

“Yeh, well you blokes enjoy your date! I’m swimmin’!” Sheila dove in.

“I guess we’re gonna smell like cherry for this whole trip.” Mason figured as he dove in.

They could taste cherry whenever the water seeped into their mouths, but beyond that, the water was very fresh and clear. There was a giant oscillator fan conjuring a gentle breeze over the lake. They found a Shy Guy sitting on the end of a boardwalk and reading a book.

Sheila dove underwater and searched around. Her eyes widened at seeing something, so she rose up. “Mason, there’s a cave down there!”

“Let’s check it out!” Mason joined his captain and swam to the underwater cave. There were air bubbles rising from the water to replenish their oxygen. The cave seemed to stretch a fair distance, but there was eventually a surface. The teens gasped for breath, finding their selves in a cave. “Whoa, this is pretty deep. Should we go back?”

“You know the answer, mate.” Sheila kept swimming. They could hear the rushing of waterfalls as the cave became wider. There were several falls pouring in from the ceiling. The light-blue water against the indigo cave was a pretty contrast.

“Say, this must be the Indigo Underground.” Mason read the map. “It’s a cave we could’ve gotten to if we went west from Prisma. Who’d-a thought it connected to Cherry Lake?”

“Yeh, but I can’t taste the cherry that well, anymore.” Sheila said, climbing onto a foothold. “How’s the water glowing like that?”

“I dunno, luminescent rocks?” Mason replied. “It’s pretty though. Actually, did you know that some earth can actually draw in the chi from benders? As a result, the rocks glow, but the benders get exhausted faster.”

“Blimey, I don’t want ’em taking my chi!”

“Relax, it’s not that bad. Still, there should be a way out somewhere.”

The duo explored the cave, the echo of the falls relaxing. The paths steadily led them upwards. Sheila’s ears twitched, hearing something to her left: she saw nothing. She heard something above her: there were bats, but they were asleep. “Something wrong, Sheila?”

“I hear somethin’ moving.”

“Those bats?”

“No, it ain’t them. It sounds like something’s crawling.”

“AAAH!” Mason screamed—something had crawled up and jumped him from behind. Sheila quickly punched it off. The creature was a Shy Guy, hurriedly slithering up the wall like a worm, a straw in its mouth. “What is that thing?!”

“Flippin’ creepy, that’s what! YUH!” Sheila struck and KO’ed the Shunned Guy with a Light Sphere. “Oi, that’s what you get for livin’ in a cave.”

“Yeah, let’s hurry outta here.”

A bright light signaled the exit of the cave. The friends were greeted with the sight of a beautiful beach. In one section, Koopas and Inklings were shooting each other with ink guns, painting the sand in the process. There were Cheep Cheeps flopping onto another section. “Yep, this is Bloo Bay Beach.” Mason said. “Same one we saw going in. We can see Plum Park from here, and that yellow mountain range is Daffodil Peak.” He pointed to the cliffs across the sea.

“Yeh, but look at those blokes shootin’ paint guns. They’re gettin’ the sand all messy!”

“Inkling ink washes off pretty easy. Just gotta wait for the waves. Speaking of waves, you feel like going surfing?”

“We need to find Melody first!”

“I think she’s over there actually.” Mason pointed to a stage beside a food shack. Melody appeared to be singing on it.

_Landmark: KARAOKE BEACH_

_“Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo, fishy in the sea! Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo, what could you really be?”_

“Oh, it’s karaoke.” Mason observed. “Heh, she picked Ponyo, huh?”

 _“OI, MELODY!!!”_ Sheila ran up onstage and yelled in the microphone. “Come make waves for us, we wanna surf!”

“Sheila!!” Melody held the mike away. “Can’t you see I’m busy here?!”

“Well, how long is this song?”

“Hey, wait your turn!” a Toad yelled.

“I’ll make waves for you, Sheila!” Zach called, sitting at a table with a coconut drink in hand.

“Zach? What can you d—why am I even asking?” Mason sighed.

“Let’s hurry and get some boards, Mason!” Sheila ran to a rack of surfboards and took one. Mason got another, swimming out to sea with his captain.

Mason looked to the beach, wondering what Zach was up to. However, he seemed to be running from the beach, crossing the fields. “Where’s he going?”

In a moment, Zach returned, carrying the giant oscillator fan from Cherry Lake. “Zach, where are you taking that?!” Cheren yelled, he and Panini chasing him.

“Super Fist of the Fool, Tsunami Speed!” Zach turned the fan’s setting up to ‘Tsunami.’ The fan was so strong that it blew everyone on the beach away. The waves rose to the size of a mountain.

“WAAAAAAAHHHH!” Mason was screaming in fear, while Sheila screamed in excitement. The wave rose higher and higher, the ground sinking lower in their vision, until the explorers finally crashed and washed on a surface. “Ow… where on the island are we?”

“Hey, what’s the beach doing all the way down there?” Sheila asked. The very beach that they were just standing on was now thousands of feet beneath them and across the bay. Mason faced the other direction, seeing the expanse of yellow stone sloping downward.

“We’re on the top of Daffodil Peak?! We surfed all the way up here?!”

“Hee hee hee! Bet that’ll win the surfing contest! Well, Mason, nowhere to go but down!”

There were pipes to carry them across gorges and down cliffs, but Sheila chose to walk across them rather than in them, jumping her way down the mountain blissfully. They spotted a lumberjack hut with several stacks of logs lain outside. A group of Whittles were carrying some logs to a cabin in progress. The Whittles were wooden creatures with heads of varying, polygonal shapes. “Ooo, Mason, you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I don’t wanna, but I know you’re gonna.”

And with no choice but to join her, Mason and Sheila stole a log from the yard. They set it at the edge of the hill and got on. “Whooooooaaaaa!” They stepped backwards quickly to stay balanced, the log rolling and bouncing down the mountain. It was a wildly dangerous ride as Mason feared flinging off and smashing his head on a rock. However, they were nearing the bottom, bouncing on a path leading to a gate. Their log bounced over the gate and BASHED the head of a wandering yellow Toad.

“Owww…?!” Mason gasped, seeing the Toad. There was a booth beside the gate. “Crap! I think we just hurt the guard!” He held the Toad up, seeing the huge bump on his head. “W-We gotta take him to Melody!”

“She’s at the beach, right?!” Sheila lifted the Toad. “I know a shortcut!” She was about to run up the mountain.

“WE’RE NOT GOING THAT WAY!” Mason yanked her back.

“I…I remember now.” The Toad whispered. The friends looked to him curiously. “My true identity… I am… THE MOUNTAIN SAGE!”

The Toad shone with a powerful aura. His Fury Mode flaring, he launched a powerful burst of Earth Chi at a mountain, blowing a gaping hole through it. The blast barely missed Cleveland’s house, destroying the front and exposing the man in his bathtub. “No no no no NO NO!” And he plummeted down the mountain.

“…Huh.” Mason said.

The duo headed southwest from the mountain, reaching a field of dark-blue grass. There was a large building in the distance. “Oh, flippin’ heck.” Sheila cursed as her sandals and toes were stained blue. “They really need to clean up around here!”

“All the organic matter on this island produces paint.” Mason reminded. “Our shoes were yellow a minute ago.”

“Well, they still gotta clean it!”

_Landmark: DARK BLOO INN_

They arrived at the building in question, a dark-blue, three-story hotel. “This is where we’ll be staying the night.” Mason said as they entered the hotel’s front yard. “Of course, it’s not night, yet.”

“Ah, hello, travelers.” A Toad worker approached them. “I reckon you’re part of the KND we were called about?”

“Yep! We’re just kinda wandering around.” Mason answered. “And we’re certainly not tired, are we, Sheila?”

“Not in the slightest!”

“Some friends of yours already came by here. They headed for the Plum Park in the back.” The Toad pointed.

“I’m in the mood for plums~” Sheila said.

They walked around the mansion and saw a hedge wall with a fancy white gate. They stepped in to the paved path of Plum Park. Purple roses were growing in the hedges, the flowing river more clear and clean than Cherry Lake’s. Sheila splashed in the river to wash the paint off her shoes. “Hee hee! Nice and clean!”

“Yoo hoo! Maseyfairy!” a cheery voice called.

With a blush, Mason viewed across the garden pond, seeing Carol waving from a high ledge. She was sitting with Ciel at a garden table. Mason and Sheila found a hidden path behind the hedges leading up to the table. “Hey, Carol! This is a pretty ‘rich person’ garden, isn’t it?”

“It is more complex than the one from my manor, I’ll admit.” Ciel replied, sipping some tea.

“So, you make any big tabs?” Carol asked.

“Well, we ate at a café, and Zach might’ve destroyed a beach. But it wasn’t our fault, so it doesn’t count!” Mason stated.

“Well, I’m still owed for the past adventure, so feed me some plums.”

“Ugh…” Mason picked some plums from the nearby bushel and placed them in Carol’s mouth. She chewed with a satisfied smile.

Sheila went ahead to explore the garden, navigating the hedge maze. She located a fountain on one end, and Arianna was waist deep within it, eating plums herself. “Hi, Sheila! Enjoying your adventure?”

“Aye, this island’s been great! So, is that a pool?”

“It’s the Fountain of Life. It can heal minor injuries like a waterbender.”

“Also, Ari has a thing for plums.” Vweeb remarked, floating on a lilipad. “No wonder she’s so purple~”

“Perhaps if you ate some fruit, you wouldn’t be so pale, Vweeb~”

After Carol was satisfied, Mason searched for Sheila in the garden. He located another fountain, with a stone plaque that read _Fountain of Truth_. Mason saw coins in the water, so he decided to flip one in. “I wish Carol would forget her debt.”

“How come, Mason?”

“GYAH!” Mason fell into the fountain from shock. He resurfaced, facing up at Carol. “Uh, I mean, I…”

“Mason, if you don’t wanna serve me anymore, you don’t have to. I’m not even serious about the debt. If anything, I’m gonna start charging Sheila, though.”

“Heh, I was only joking, Carol. To be honest, I… kinda like serving you.”

“You do?” Carol blushed.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s kind of a relaxing exercise compared to our missions, to be honest. Plus, I like your smart and spunky attitude. You’ve gotten so talented and cool.”

“Awwww!” Carol flushed and swayed. “Careful, Masey, Sheila’s gonna get jealous~”

“Heh heh, don’t worry. I think about Sheila almost all the time. I just love the way she dresses and the way she smells… and her voice is so loud that it rings in my head all night. I just love how her hair feels, how her tail wiggles when I tickle her, and…”

“Eh heh heh…” Carol cringed awkwardly at his blunt statement. “Too much information?”

“WHY DID I SAY THAT?!” Mason scrambled out of the fountain. He reread the plaque. “FOUNTAIN OF TRUTH?! I’VE BEEN CURSED! I gotta break it somehow! Carol, I love you! I love you I love you I love you I love you…phew. I think I’m cured now. Well, better find Sheila!” He jogged off in relief.

Carol merely glared in his direction. “On second thought, the debt is still on.”

_Landmark: FOUNTAIN OF PURITY_

Sheila trudged across the river and arrived at the source: a fountain behind a stage, where Bon Clay Jr. was performing a dance for the Shy Guys. “Oh, mah heart’s in doki doki panic! It’s pure, just like this fountain! I offer my heart and soul to it! I’m here, my dear! Have no fear!”

“Hey, Sheila!” The captain looked to see Haruka rowing over in a barrel.

“Haruka? Why’re you in a barrel?”

“’Cause I don’t like to be waist deep in water? April told me a cool story about this fountain. Every month, someone has to sing a romantic song on this stage, or else an evil monster will wake up and turn the water poisonous. And apparently, it’s around that time.”

“No way that’s true and I’ll prove it!”

“Oh, baby~” Clay sang as Sheila climbed onstage. “You break mah heart like an egg in the face-” And she PUNCHED Clay in the teeth. The audience gasped.

“I don’t see no monster!”

But she spoke too soon: a tea bag leapt out of the fountain, growing into a humanoid Piranha Plant. The Petea Piranha barfed into the fountain, turning it white and gunky. It quickly began to flow downriver and infect the whole garden.

 _“Sheila, what did you do?!”_ Mason called.

“I’ll fix this! BAD monster!” Sheila punched the plant’s bulbous head. “Bad! Bad! Bad!”

“Dance with me, baby!” Bon Clay grabbed Petea’s leaf hands and danced with it. “Oh, you steal mah heart! You pluck it like a weed! Baby, dance with me!”

His form was rather hasty, but Petea seemed to get into it. The monster grinned and began to dance with him.

After a tiring effort of re-purifying the water with aid from Mason and Haruka’s bending, Sheila was kicked out of the park. “Hee hee hee! Well, mistakes happen, eh Mase?”

“That was more than just a mistake!” Haruka yelled.

The trio walked to the edge of the hotel grounds, looking over the sea from a cliff. “Look, there’s Inkopolis!” Mason pointed left. The city was built on the water within the corner of the brush and handle of the island. “I wonder if Artie is already there?”

“Why would he be?” Sheila asked. “We already explored Inkopolis.”

“We could hardly call that a free exploration.” Haruka replied. “Besides, you were barely there.”

“Wait, there’s Artie!” Mason pointed to a distant speedboat sailing from the city.

“They’re going to that island over there!” Sheila pointed to a more distant island to the right. “HEY, ARTIIIIEEEE!” She leapt off the cliff, flailing her arms on her descent to the sea.

“SHEILA!!” Mason had no choice but to follow. Haruka sighed at their impulse decision.

Artie was riding the boat with his Inkling friends, Squam and Squitaba. He studied the main island with binoculars. “Huh?” Sheila and Mason seemed to be falling down the cliff. “Hmm…I knew the hotel was up there, but I didn’t think they’d be there at the same time. Guys, we’re changing course!”

They drove the boat to the island to pick up Mason and Sheila. “What were you two doing?” Squitaba asked. “You’re lucky we saw you because it ain’t exactly easy to get back up. It’s a long swim to a shore, too.”

“Sheila wanted to know where you were going.” Mason explained.

“They were taking me to that island over there.” Artie pointed. “That’s Fort Cobalt, the military base. It’s where they train the Splatoons and stuff. Wanna come with us?”

“Aye-aye!”

Fort Cobalt was west-southwest of the main island. There was a shore for the group to park, trekking up a hill to the base’s entrance. “Yo! We’re here for a tour!” Squam said to the Snifit guard. “Cap’n Cuttlefish gave us this.” He revealed a card with the captain’s insignia.

“Sniffle. I guess you’re fine then. Just stay along the tourist path and don’t bother the troops.”

Past the entrance, the group went up stairs to a walkway leading over the yard. There were guards patrolling between the fences and a platoon of Inklings and Shy Guys doing push-ups on a field. “Y’all shoulda been the ones to save Inkopolis!” the General Guy yelled. “Y’all shoulda fought them pirates! Y’all are gonna push until you can bust down these 20-inch steel doors!”

“Man, poor guys.” Mason said. “I wonder if we just made a bunch of militaries look bad?”

“They’ve been going like that for a while.” Squam said. “They’ve been making some good progress. A few of them are strong enough to-”

“INTRUDER ALERT!” Before they knew it, a source of whirling light was rushing around the fences, taking down the guards. “STOP THAT TANUKI GIRL!” Sheila had run past them, going up the stairs to the training field.

“Let’s see if I can break down that door!” Sheila ran across the backs of the soldiers and threw a giant Light Fist, smashing the General Guy against the steel doors, which blew open in turn.

The others quickly hurried over the tourist path, now overlooking a hallway with fence barricades. Sheila busted the fences down, but trapdoors opened as one caught her. In the room underneath, a swarm of Ninji ganged up on Sheila. They could hear intense thrashing underneath, and in the next moment, a bunch of unconscious Ninji were erupted out of a pipe, which Sheila climbed out of. She jumped the trapdoors and reached the end of the corridor.

_Landmark: COBALT CAFÉ_

The tourist path led out to a café where some soldiers were on break. “Strewth! I’m hungry!” Sheila beamed, entering from their right. “WHOA!” She dodged a Shy Guy’s fiery breath. “AAH!” And another one. The soldiers were eating spicy burgers at their tables. Sheila dodged around them and reached the stand. “’ey, whatcha have on your menu?”

“Our specialty is the Magma Burger,” the Toad replied, “fresh from Redpepper Volcano. But we also sell Prisma Juice and Hearty Latte.”

“Gimme the burger and juice! Me stamina needs a recharge~”

The Magma Burger seemed to have lava between two cooked brown buns. Sheila took a big bite. “. . . . !!!!! HOOOOOOOT!” Sheila unleashed a breath of fire and burned all the feasting soldiers. Once the fire died down, she chucked the Prisma Juice down her throat. “Ahhhh…oi, can I have another juice?” Sheila asked.

“GOT HER!” Two Snifits grabbed her arms.

“Oh, blimey.”

Before long, Sheila and Mason were stuffed into a large cannon. “Artie, why are you doing this?!” Mason shouted at the boy manning the cannon.

“Because shooting a cannon this cool isn’t a chance you get often! (Also, I wanna try to shoot you somewhere safe.) Firing in three…two…one…GO!”

The cannon BOOMED! “AAAAAAHHHH…”

They flew the great distance back to Prism Island, going over the Dark Bloo Inn and toward the forest beyond it. They bounced off an enormous leaf and down a series of them, but then fell along the thick trunk of the tree. They bounced off a huge blade of grass before hitting the soil. “Man, the customer service there was awful.” Sheila said.

“Um, Sheila? Does this feel familiar to you?” Mason asked worriedly. The grass seemed to tower above them, and the trees rose like buildings, blocking the sun with their ceiling of leaves.

The ground shook: a creature was stomping toward them. It was massive, brown, and mushroom-shaped. It was a giant Goomba. “Where did you little kids come from?”

“AAAAAAHH!” the kids screamed and hugged. “Sheila, we shrunk again!”

“That was a shrinking cannon?! How did Artie think that was safe?!”

“Are you guys lost?” the Goomba asked in a deep voice. “This place is-”

“I’M WAY STRONGER THIS TIME!” Sheila punched the giant dead in the face as he reeled back with a quake.

“Sheila, what did you do that for?” a girl asked.

“Who said that?!” Sheila whipped around, looking up.

“Down here.” They looked down, spotting Goombella.

“Goombella?! You shrunk, too?”

“We aren’t shrunk, Sheila. This is Mondo Woods, a forest of giant vegetation. It’s home to giant Goombas, too.”

“Wow.” Mason said, viewing around the forest. “I didn’t expect a place like this on the island. I feel like giants need their own island for room.”

“Yeah, but they manage. And these big guys are pretty gentle overall. But it gets better.” Goombella smirked. “Come with me!”

She navigated through the forest of grass and around the large Goombas. A smaller, normal-size path seemed to lead up a cliff. The path felt too small for the Goombas to walk, and they reached an area where the plants were normal size. There was a giant turnip clogging a pipe and another cliff behind it. “See that hole?” Goombella indicated the hole in the cliff. “I can fit in it, but you guys may have to take the pipe. Can you move this turnip?”

Sheila grabbed one of the turnip leaves and easily yanked it out, discarding it down the cliff. “See you on the other side!” Sheila jumped in the pipe and Mason afterward.

The path let out in another forest, where Goombella emerged from the cliff. The group seemed to exit the forest as the area became clear of trees… upon looking down, they noticed small trees as high as their knees, and tiny Goombas roamed within them. “We’re GIANTS, now?!” Sheila exclaimed.

“Nope!” Goombella beamed. “This is the Sacred Forest. Separated from the giants, these Goombas live here in peace.”

“Why is it called the Sacred Forest?” Mason asked, the trio keeping eyes down as they stepped carefully. The Goombas stayed clear of the visitors’ path, staring up at them.

“Because these little guys consider this sacred ground. That’s why it’s blocked off from the bigger forest and secluded on this mountain. These Goombas believe in minimalist values and wish to live in peace. Of course, every now and then, there’ll be that determined Goomba who dreams of the outside world and ventures off in the vast, giant outside. Sort of like myself.” She smiled dreamily. “I admit, it feels good being a giant here, but I totally empathize with these little guys.”

“Heeheehee!” Sheila giggled, slipping her sandal off and planting her toes near some Goombas. “They’re the same color as me toes! Hee hee, if you wee blighters get stuck in them, I couldn’t tell the difference!”

Mason and Goombella cringed at her gesture. “…” The tiny Goombas glared at the giant in disgust, walking away from her.

“Well, that was rude.” Goombella said simply.

“Wot? I’m just sayin’ me toes look like Goombas.”

“As a Goomba who hangs out with big, strong humans, I wouldn’t appreciate some giant putting their foot in my face.”

“Then what about Morgie?”

“Morgie doesn’t…sigh, Sheila, just don’t do that. It felt like you were looking down on them or something.”

“Oi wasn’t! Sigh, let’s just keep exploring.”

“Yeah.” Mason complied, wanting to relieve the awkwardness.

There was a line of tiny Buzzy Beetles coming from a hole and going into a cave. The group carefully stepped over the bugs. To their right was a wide field where hundreds of Goombas were socializing. Goombella led them to a tree at the end of the forest. It was rather distinct as the only normal tree in the forest.

_Landmark: OLD SACRED TREE_

The tree was set at the edge of the cliff. Mason stood over the cliff, viewing a foggy forest below. The forest stretched along the “handle” of the paintbrush island. “Why is this tree not small?” Sheila asked, knocking it with her knuckles.

“To the Goombas, it’s enormous.” Goombella explained. “Some people find their way here to make a wish to the tree. Legend says it was blessed by a star.”

“I wouldn’t trust it.” Mason replied. “’Tried making a wish to a fountain earlier, didn’t go well.”

“Then I wish to fight the strongest bloke on the island!” Sheila declared, punching the tree!

A ton of tiny Goombas rained out of the branches, some landing on Sheila and others the ground. “Whoops! Didn’t know you little blighters were up there!” She grinned spritely. “Heehee, when it comes to little guys, I don’t think to look above me nose!”

“Ugh…” Goombella groaned.

Needless to say, the Goombas were furious. They all swarmed the captain and clambered up and around her body. “AAAAAHH! THEY’RE BITING ME! Mason, help!” Sheila cried, falling and rolling around. “There’s too many! I can’t get them!”

“I’ll help!” Goombella rushed up: she sank her teeth into Sheila’s tail, the Faunus unable to spin her off. Forced on her front, Sheila was dragged to the cliff. The Goombas scrambled off and SHOVED Sheila over.

“AAAAAaaaaahhhh…”

“Told you not to trust it.” Mason said. “Ho boy…” And he jumped off the cliff next.

“Rude tourists are the worst, huh?” Goombella asked. Her tiny brethren jumped over their victory.

Mason blew a Gas Bomb at the ground to thrust him up and break his fall. He landed on the ground of the foggy forest, the trees shadowed in its denseness. “Sheila? Where are you? Are you okay?” he called to seemingly no one.

The forest possessed a rather creepy atmosphere. Mason trekked forward with a fearful heart. “Ah!” He spotted a pair of long, skinny legs up ahead. There were two Piranha Plant heads blowing spikeballs in the air. There was a hoop that shadowed creatures were jumping through. “What are these things?”

“Mason!”

“Yah!” He whipped up in fright when the long-legged creature stepped over him. It was a Koopa on stilts, Sheila on his back.

“Hehe! I landed on a circus turtle! Talk about lucky, eh?”

“Get off me!” The Koopa shook her off.

Mason helped his friend up, noticing all the little bite marks on her. “Are you okay? Those Goombas really didn’t let up.”

“Ah, it’s nothin’ but a bunch of bug bites.”

“Okay, that actually sounded offensive.”

“I’m just sayin’ it didn’t hurt.”

“I know, but… just be careful what you say or do from now on. I know you’re just trying to have fun, but some people can get offended, like those Goombas.”

“Okay, I will.” Sheila sighed. “Well, let’s see a circus!” Her spirits up again, she rushed through the forest! The creatures jumping through hoops were Dino Rhinos, there were Koopas juggling hammers on tightropes, and Ptooie Piranhas dancing and blowing spikeballs.

_Landmark: EMERALD CIRCUS_

According to the map, the circus was built at the edge of the island’s handle. “Howdy, travelers!” announced the ringleader Shy Guy. “It’s rare to find folks travel all the way out here!”

“Yeah, well Sheila’s a rarity.” Mason chuckled.

“Are you puttin’ up a show?” Sheila asked.

“Sorry, we need a bigger audience to do a show. But since ya traveled all this way, feel free to look around! Most of us are practicing our acts.”

There was a stack of Buzzies from big to small and a band of Uni Guys riding a single unicycle, performing unique poses. The teens approached a cage of colored Yoshis. “Hm…aren’t Yoshis a sentient race? Why are they all locked up?” Mason asked.

“Let’s ask ’em.” Sheila approached the cage of blissful Yoshis. “Hey, are you fellas-” A Yoshi shot its tongue, caught, and swallowed Sheila. She furiously pounded the dino from within and was spat out. “Come on, what did I say to offend you, ya bloody dino?!” She kicked the cage in frustration, but the strength of her kick knocked it open. The Yoshis immediately stampeded out, some flipping Mason and Sheila on their backs.

“THE PRIMAL YOSHIS ESCAPED!” cried Lead Guy. “GET THEM! They’ll eat everyone on the island!”

“Aaaaaahh!” cried Mason, holding onto his Yoshi.

“Yahooooooo!” cheered Sheila. The Yoshis charged northwest in the forest, but the friends bumped their heads on some branches and were knocked off. “Hey, come back!” Sheila yelled.

“Sheila, wait!” Mason grabbed her. “Look.” He pointed to a green, mushroom-shaped house with several power generators and a thunder rod. Sharing a curious glance, the duo approached and entered the house.

_Landmark: GREEN ENERGY PLANT_

They found a familiar friend of theirs staring at a large screen. “Hey, Dillon!”

“Oh? Mason, Sheila!” Dillon beamed.

“Friends of yours?” asked a green Toad named Plan T..

“What’re you doing here?” Mason asked.

“This dude made a virtual reality of _Mario 3_. He’s trying to convert it into a full 3D game!”

“Wow, neat!”

 _“Hey, Dillon!”_ Vanellope called inside the screen. _“One of these clouds is missing an eye.”_

“Oh dear. Could you fix that, dearie?” Plan asked.

“Cool! I wanna go in there!” Sheila declared.

“Well, then just stand in the transporter!” Sheila did so and stood in the device. The Toad pressed a button, and before their eyes, Sheila disappeared and reappeared inside the game. _“Wow! It’s so pixelly! Mason, get in here!”_

“Haha!” Mason joined his captain. In a flash, he was in a colorful world of stretched, 3D sprites. “Feels kinda Minecrafty, to be honest. You oughta fix these models a bit.”

“Hey, guys!” Vanellope greeted. “Welcome to Old School World!”

“Blimey, it’s a whole new place to explore!” Sheila said.

“Well, the world’s actually kinda small right now. But we can still look around!”

“Ah, here it is!” Mason studied the map. “This is actually the Green Energy Plant. It supplies all the power for the main island. The wires mostly go underground; it does cut through Mondo Woods, after all.”

Little did they know that, outside, the sky began to turn stormy. The Ferris wheel monster that escaped from Pinna Park descended. _“This puny house will be the first place to taste my wrath! Bwah ha ha ha!”_ It struck a powerful bolt of lightning onto the rod. The power plant flashed and blacked out, Dillon and Plan’s hearts nearly bursting from the start.

“OH, NO!” Dillon screamed. “Vanellope! Guys! Are they okay?!”

“Don’t worry! I’ll have them back as soon as possible!” Plan T. began trying to repair the device.

Meanwhile, a yellow Toad professor was searching a computer at his house. “Let’s see… ah, this seems like good equipment. I think I’ll order-”

“LICKETY SPLIT FREE!” Vanellope burst out of the computer, Mason and Sheila rematerializing after her.

“GYAAAAH!” cried Professor Kinopio. “Where did you kids come from?!”

“Wait, this isn’t the energy plant. Where are we?” Mason asked.

“This is Château Chanterelle! It’s my house!”

The trio stepped outside, seeing they were on a relaxing, yellow villa near the foot of Daffodil Peak. Mason viewed the map: this area was east of the peak and northwest of Mondo Woods. “How the heck did we teleport all the way over here?”

“Hehe, that was cool, though!” Sheila grinned. “Any place we can go here?”

Mason read the map. “If we head north, we’ll get to Marmalade Valley, then there’s a train that leads all the way to Starlight Cape.”

“To Starlight Cape we go!”

The sun was beginning to set by the time they arrived at Marmalade Valley. There was a train station not far from an orange mountain. There was a familiar pigtailed girl hassling the Toad engineer. “I don’t ride in no trains unless I’m driving it!” Chimney stated. “Now, let me drive the train!”

“Fine, fine, I’ll let you drive it!” the engineer gave in. “Just let me finish fueling first!”

“Hey, Chimney!” Mason called. “Hah, I shoulda known we’d see you here!”

“Hn? Oi, Mason-chan, Sheila-chan! I was about to take April to Starlight Something!”

“Oh, April’s here?”

“Yah, but she went to that mountain looking for a flower or something.”

“Time for more climbin’, Mason!” Sheila ran toward the mountain.

The mountain in question seemed to be an excavation site where Toads were unearthing a large fossil within the canyon. “I wonder what kinda creature that is?”

“Oi ain’t a biologist.” Sheila shrugged. “But I reckon we can climb up here!” Sheila jumped the gate into the excavation site, Mason joining her. Despite the Toads trying to catch them and yelling to stop, Sheila easily dodged past them all, climbing the ladders of the scaffolding. Once at the top, the duo could climb some rocks jutting out of the cliff and reach a ledge of the short mountain. They clambered up other short ledges to reach the top of the mountain, where April was painting an image before a single, rainbow-colored flower.

_Secret Landmark: RAINBOW CARNATION_

“Hi, Sheila! Glad to see you caught up.” April smiled.

“What’s this li’l flower?” Sheila asked, squatting over it.

“A Rainbow Carnation. It’s a pretty rare flower. I love the way it glows in the twilight.”

Her canvas depicted the flower glowing against the indigo, twilit sky. Mason smiled at the painting. “You gonna take it with you?”

“Of course not. That would make the valley less beautiful.”

“True to that.”

“Besides, I think this painting will suffice.” April picked it off the stand. “Well, time to catch our train.” She began to climb her way down the opposite side of the mountain.

“Ah, we coulda just come this way.” Mason said as he and Sheila followed.

The group boarded the _Sunset Express_ , an orange train marked with a star at the front. “All aboard, peoples!” Chimney cheered from the driver’s seat. “Time to ride the Sunset Choo-Choo to freedom!”

The train began its great voyage across the Orange Desert. True to its name, the _Sunset Express_ only drove during sunset, providing its passengers a lovely view of the horizon. They rode a stone bridge past a temple with Spiny statues. “There’s Kiwano Temple!” Mason pointed. “They say that’s an ancestral home to Spinies.”

“I reckon we’ll swing by there tomorrow!” Sheila grinned.

“Hey kid, stop the train!” the engineer panicked, pointing at the sky. “A Thwomp hangs up there, it’ll crush us!”

“There ain’t no stopping on a Chimney train!!” Chimney stomped the gas petal and sped the train, zooming directly under the giant Thwomp as it missed them by a second.

“WHOA!!” Mason cried. “That seems like a massive safety hazard!”

“I know, they’re really annoying!” the Toad agreed. “There’s gonna be one more, so get ready to blow your horn!”

A few miles past the temple, the train drove through the Toad Trainworks. Since their train hadn’t been ruined by the Thwomp, there was no need to stop for repairs. A few miles more, the train drove by the Tangerino Grill, a restaurant stationed all by its lonesome in the desert. The tracks made a left turn as they drove along the eastern cliffs of the island. They were headed straight northward with a fantastic view of the sunset. Chimney drove past the train yard and entered a tunnel.

“Kid, blow the horn! Quickly!” the Toad yelled.

Chimney pulled the chain and, _CHOOOOOO!_ A Thwomp was resting on the tracks past the end of the tunnel, but it jumped awake and rose to the sky. “Can’t you just change the course of the tracks a little bit?!” Mason asked.

“We want to, but this is the clearest route we have! I gotta say, though, this kid’s a better driver than I expected!”

“I am the true Train Master!” Chimney boasted.

A mountain range towered in the west, and beyond it was the Redpepper Volcano. The sun was gone beyond the horizon by the time they made it to Starlight Cape. The tracks would make a U-turn, but the train came to a halt. Stars glittered the sky and waves gently brushed the shore. A monochrome boy was sitting at the cape, facing the sea. He turned as April came to sit with him. “I hope the ride wasn’t too bumpy.” He teased.

“Chimney is crazy, but she’s trustworthy.” April assured. “I brought you a flower.” She showed him the Rainbow Carnation image.

“It’s lovely!” Jerome chuckled.

“Blimey, look at that view!” Sheila’s voice broke the serenity, plopping on the cliff. “There’s another Thwomp over there!”

There was a distant mountain range on a further shore, and the silhouette of a Thwomp hovered above it. Each time the Thwomp crashed down, a shooting star grazed the sky. “That Thwomp is so huge that it makes stars fall from the heavens.” April said. “They say that, one day, it may make this entire planet fall.”

“REALLY?!” Sheila panicked.

“Relax, it just stomps in conjunction with the falling stars.” Jerome laughed. “It is quite big for a Thwomp though.”

The couples relaxed in silence, the starlit scenery calming their hearts. Chimney sat on the roof of the train, her grin sparkling like the stars. “Yaaaaaawn…” Sheila released a yawn and leaned onto Mason. The boy could tell his captain was finally tired after this exciting day.

“We can stop by that restaurant on the way back, if you’re hungry.”

“Hehe, I still got strength for a bite!” Sheila cheered.

“They only serve pizza and steak with water.” April mentioned.

“Food is still food!” Sheila jumped up. “Let’s go eat!” And she rushed to the train.

“I can attest to that!” Chimney swung back into the cockpit and started the train up. Mason hurried onboard before Chimney hastily started the train and made the U-turn.

“…See you later.” April said casually, left behind with Jerome.

“Well, it’s not like I can’t warp us.” Jerome shrugged.

_Landmark: TANGERINO GRILL_

The Tangerino resembled a classic country restaurant with a boarded floor and heavy with the smell of meat, cheese, and condiments. For being out in the middle of nowhere, there were lots of customers happily enjoying the food. “Man, it’s a full house tonight.” Mason said. “The food must be really good.”

“It’s better zan good tonight!” cheered a waiter Toad in a French accent. “We got a new customer earlier today, and she turned out to be a super amazing chef! So, ve gave her a part-time job!”

“Ooooorder up!” Yuzu Kurosaki kicked open the kitchen doors. “Two Mega Steaks and five Mama Mia Pizzas fresh from the stove! Oh, Mason! Sheila! What’s up?”

“Thanks to her, we’ve upgraded from a 1-Star restaurant to a full-fledged One-and-a-Half-Star restaurant!” the Toad exclaimed.

“Is…is that good?” Mason asked.

“Of course it is, Mason! Now, let’s eat!” Sheila jumped into the chair of an open table. Mason took the other seat. “I’ll have one of everything, Yuzu!”

“Well, at least you two survived.” a girl’s voice said. Goombella was perched on a high chair at a nearby table.

“Oh…’ey, Goombella.” Sheila greeted awkwardly. “’ey, uh…I’m sorry for offending the Goombas.”

“Accepted.” Goombella smiled. “I explained to them that you didn’t mean anything. You’re not the kind of girl who discriminates. But thanks for letting them beat you up.”

“Yeh…letting them.”

“Ha ha ha!” Mason laughed. “You really couldn’t shake them off, could you?”

“N-No, I let them!”

“Goomba Clan, one, Sheila, none!” Goombella cheered.

“No, I beat up that giant one in the other forest!”

“Ah, right. Actually, since that was about a hundred-plus Goombas, they still outscore you!”

She and Mason shared a laugh over Sheila’s embarrassment. A moment later, a pizza and steak were brought out for the friends to dine on, satisfying their bellies and preparing them for a good night of sleeping.

The train would bring them back to Marmalade Valley. They would head southward to Château Chanterelle, then go west past Sunglow Ridge to get back to Dark Bloo Inn. By the time they made this long journey, it had become 11:00pm. The crew checked into the inn, finding Haru, Melody, Cheren, and Panini were hanging around the lobby in pajamas. “We were waiting for you guys!” Cheren said. “We didn’t feel like sleeping ’til we confirmed you were okay. You missed dinner!”

“It’s okay, we decided to eat out.” Mason assured. “But I’m dying to brush my teeth. Where’s the bathroom?”

“I’ll show you.” Haruka led him off.

Sheila decided to wander the hotel for a bit, stumbling on the dining room. “Whoa!” she yelped. A group of ghost Toads seemed to be dining on ghostly cake and tea. Across from them were Nebula and Death the Kid, the former eating solid cake with purple icing.

“Many thanks for guiding us to the dining room.” One of the ghosts spoke in a serene tone.

“Yes… we almost didn’t make it on time.” Another spoke.

“Well, it would’ve been quite inconvenient for our friends to be trapped in a time loop.” Kid said.

“Why are all of Mushroom’s hotels haunted?” Nebula asked before biting her cake. “Even the greatest hotel on the planet was built by King Boo.”

“The planet is lush with supernatural concentration, so spirits are naturally attracted here as well.”

“They add a nice ambiance to the scene, at least.”

“Oi, what’s Kid doing here?” Sheila asked.

“Sheila?” Nebula turned. “Ah, you showed up! Yeah, Kid was helping us sort out a little curse.”

“What’s with this island and curses?”

“There’s a legend about this place.” Kid began. “Many years ago, when the Dark Bloo Inn first opened, six Toad friends made a promise—a sacred oath, really—to have a tea party here. They checked into the inn the day before, intending to spend the night before their party began at 3:00 p.m. the next day. But as it happened, the grandfather clock at the front desk broke. When the Toads finally realized this, 3:00 p.m. had long since passed. The six friends fell into a deep depression, and as the years passed, their tea-sipping aspirations remained unfulfilled. Exactly 200 years after the founding of the inn, the grandfather clock was repaired in commemoration. From the moment the clock once again began to mark the passage of time, the ghosts of these Toads returned. Now, they must be brought to this dining room every year, before 3:00 tomorrow, or this inn will be trapped in an indefinite time loop.”

“What kinda flippin’ weird curse is that?”

“It’s not our place to judge the cultural traditions of ghost Toads.” Nebula replied.

“But they weren’t even ghosts when…meh, whatever.”

“Young lady, could you bring this strawberry to that cage over there?” a ghost asked Sheila.

Confused, the young captain picked up a strawberry and brought it to a gold cage. She reached her arm in—“Ah!” the berry was eaten from her hand. “What happened?! Is there some kinda creature in here?”

“AHA!” Zach suddenly kicked the door open, holding a bucket of green paint. “I thought I smelled an unpainted Yoshi in here! Time to rejoin your brethren!” He dumped the paint over the cage and Sheila, revealing the invisible creature to be a Yoshi.

Zach opened the cage and rode the Yoshi outside the hotel. He was charging for the cliffs as the stampede of feral Yoshis joined with him. “Come, my brethren! Our siege on Moon Kingdom begins NOW!”

The Yoshis grew angelic wings and soared to the heavens. Mason had frozen in his teeth-brushing, watching them with total confusion. “…Huh.”

**Sheila rewards Prism Island with a colorful 10/10! Tons of cool stuff to see on the island, but they really need to clean the place up! I gotta wash me hands every five seconds and some!**

**OTHER LANDMARKS:**

**Mustard Café: located on the southeast corner of the paintbrush, it’s a sunny café with an amazing view of a gaping, ominous hole leading deep underground. The café has a pipe leading into an underground complex that this same hole drops into.**

**The Violet Isles: a series of islands to the northwest of the island. Sailors must follow a unique route through a foggy, rocky sea, followed by an enormous maelstrom and a sea of pitch-black. Legend says a mound of treasure waits on Fortune Island. (But sailing this sea requires its own adventure.)**

**Secret Landmark – Redpepper Spring: a hot spring located deep within the Redpepper Crater. One can find Tom Taylor relaxing in here and the JP girls spying on him.**


	3. Adventure 3: Odyssea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sheila and friends explore the continent of Odyssea on Mushroom World!

**While _Mario Odyssey_ had fun worlds, I really didn’t like how small and contained they felt. For this adventure, I’m not gonna work by _Odyssey_ ’s map because it’s basically its own globe with bodies of ocean between some areas, so I’m gonna take a couple creative liberties in terms of its geography.**

****

**_

Adventure 3: Odyssea

_**

****

Sprawled along the backseat of the cab, Sheila’s droll expression reflected her lazy position. Her eyes saw only the ceiling as her arms were weighed down by the weight of her head. “Man, I wanted to be smellin’ the sea breeze on me ship. Why did we end up riding a bloody taxi?”

“Sheila?” Mason spoke, turning to her from the front seat. “You realize this is a flying taxi, right?”

Indeed, the car in question was flying via a sail jutting from its roof, thousands of feet in the air, but was otherwise no different from a common cab. “So, what? We fly in ships all the time, and they’re faster.”

“Yeah, but in all our years, we’ve never ridden a taxi. It’s relaxing to do something semi-normal for a change.”

“New Donk provides the best taxi service in the world!” said the driver, an average human man in a gray suit. “We’re happy to take you anywhere in Odyssea!”

“Just drop me off soon, man.” Sheila remarked, sitting upright. “Ah’m a girl that goes on foot or whatever looks fun!”

“Gotcha down, Captain! Strap in ’cause we’re making a landing for the city gates!”

Flying past a small squad of other flying cabs, the kids made land at the gate of a bustling city. As he stepped out, Mason gaped and gazed wondrously at the towering skyscrapers. There were thousands of people about the streets, most of them human. There was a red-suited man playing a saxophone and jazzing up the community, some people riding mopeds, and people playing with their dogs in a park.

“Heh, New Donk City, Sheila! Doesn’t it make you feel metropolitan?!” Mason cheered.

“Why? It’s just a city, mate.” Sheila replied, scratching her nose. “We see ’em all the time on Earth.”

“But Sheila, this town was built and founded by Earth colonizers a century ago. So many people migrated here just to get to know Mushroomian culture and vice-versa. I know it’s commonplace for us operatives, but just imagine being an ordinary civilian and flying to a whole other alien planet, meeting all the strange creatures and becoming a part of it. Especially back in those days.”

“All I’m saying is, if these people wanted to explore a new planet, they shouldn’t try ta make it like Earth. You don’t see me complainin’ that towns don’t look like Brazil.”

“Shall I send the bill to ‘Miss Carol Masterson,’ young man?” asked the driver, looking at a paper.

“Yes, that’s the one.” Mason replied awkwardly. “Thanks for the lift!”

“Well, is there anything cool in this town, at least?” Sheila asked.

“I dunno, let’s look around.”

The duo strolled about the streets, becoming part of the crowds and absorbing the lively sights. On the surface, it seemed like any common American city, but the knowledge that it was built on a more magic-run world like Mushroom made it feel very exotic. Somehow, it blended into Mushroom’s environment perfectly. City Hall stood proud as the tallest tower in the city, and a stage was built partway up the tower, where Mayor Pauline would hold concerts with her band. There were also several billboards of classic Donkey Kong, referencing a famous story of New Donk. The streets and shops were named for the Kong Sea’s natives: Expresso Street, Dixie Street, Tiny’s Pioshkis, K. Rool Avenue, Squawks Park…

_Landmark: CRAZY CAP_

Mason and Sheila approached a shop with eye-catching purple and yellow colors called Crazy Cap. Harry and Artie Gilligan were walking out of it: Harry dressed in a red suit and hat like the saxophone player while Artie wore a white and blue mechanic’s hat. “Hey, there’s Sheila.” Harry greeted. “You took a while.”

“Mason made me ride a taxi!”

“It was a flying taxi! Heh, so you getting yourself some new hats?”

“It’s hard to resist in this store!” Artie replied. “Crazy Cap’s a popular business. They have hats for everyone and matching outfits to boot. They have some that’d look great on you, Sheila!”

“You know I ain’t a hat person. I need the sun shining on me scalp all day!”

“Then why don’t you shave your head?” Harry asked.

“NO WAY! NOT ME HAIR!” Sheila gripped her head in panic.

Mason laughed. “Yeah, Crazy Cap is all over the world, but this was the flagship store. I even hear this place made Mario’s cap. But I think the hats are initially made in Bonneton.”

Exploring town a bit more, Mason and Sheila saw a movie theater and a go-kart building. At the town park, some people were watching as two women were swinging a jump-rope while a little girl jumped it. There was a terminal counting her number of jumps, but when she tripped on the rope, the screen reset to zero. “Your record is 57 jumps!”

“A jump-rope game?” Sheila asked. “Heh, Oi can make the world record easy!”

“I know you’re a good jumper, but are you a fast jumper?”

“I’ll show you!” Sheila proudly marched up to the jump-rope ladies. “Mind if I jump in?”

“You seem like a tourist!” one of the ladies acknowledged. “What’s your name? We’ll put it on the scoreboard.”

“Sheila Frantic, let’s do it!” On her cue, the ladies began swinging the rope at a moderate pace. Sheila jumped it with no trouble, having made far more tricky jumps than this on missions. The more she jumped, the faster they it spun. By the time she reached the fifties, they were swinging very fast. Sheila bit her lip, having to make quick, small jumps—“Waaah!” Her sandals didn’t leave the ground with her, so the rope caught them and she fell.

“Your record is 60!”

“Heh, I guess you aren’t used to small jumps, Sheila.” Mason laughed. “Doing something in quick repetition is bound to lead to slip-ups.”

“These darn sandals betrayed me again!” Sheila kicked her sandals off and readied herself again. The rope began spinning, and once at its fastest speed, she had an easier time jumping quickly but shortly. However, her mind began spinning, she feared tripping, so on instinct, she spun her tail and hovered in the air—the rope got her tail and became wrapped around it. “Dah, dang it!”

“Record is 71!”

“Meh, jump-rope’s for babies!” Sheila struggled a bit to tear the rope off her tail, but managed to before rudely throwing it on the ground. “Let’s go somewhere else, Mason.”

Mason pulled out his map of the continent. “Okay, then how about we head due south and go to Bubblaine, the beach town?”

“That shoulda been the first place to go, man! To Bubblaine we go!”

“Cool, but you sure you don’t wanna take a cabby? It’ll be a lot faster than walking, and I don’t think there’s much to see in-between.”

“Fine, but I’m sitting on the roof this time!”

“Sure thing!” the driver said, installing a seatbelt on the roof of his car. “Just make sure to buckle tight!”

“YOU GOT HERE QUICKLY!” Mason shouted.

“Like I said, New Donk provides the best taxi service!”

The taxi sailed into the sky once more with the wind beating Sheila’s excited face. Seeing the horizon of the sea, the taxi flew over a cliff and down to a beach, stretching along the west coast of a point jutting from the continent’s south side. Bubblaine was a lively, yet relaxing beach with a lighthouse and several reefs and small islands. Its primary landmark was a giant glass tower with gold decorations and four fountains spraying giant gushes of water into it from four corners.

Sheila was eager to welcome her toes to the warming sand and dance across the beach like her natural environment. “Ah, this is more like it!”

“Beaches are as common as cities, but whatever floats your boat.” Mason remarked.

“Bonjour, madame! Welcome to Bubblaine~” a giant snail greeted in a French accent.

“BLIMEY! Big snails!”

“Heh, they’re the locals, Sheila! They’re Bubblainians.”

“With that name, I expect ’em to look more bubbly.”

“No one’s as bubbly as you. And you see that giant glass thingy? That’s filled with Sparkle Water, a really flavorful water that tastes amazing!”

“You’re makin’ me thirsty, mate, but I don’t see no other way up there!” Sheila ran into the sea and quickly swam her way to one of the islands where the water gushed from. Mason swam after, clambering up the island as Sheila was waiting for him. As both friends stood on the edge of the gush, the water spraying their faces, they shared an ecstatic grin. Both jumped in: “WHOOOOOOAAA!” They were blown into the sky by the powerful gush, going in an arch before splashing into the Glass Tower.

_Landmark: GLASS TOWER_

“Ahhh!” The friends resurfaced, slurping Sparkle Water down their throats. “Oi, I can feel it sparkling on me tongue! Ahhhh!” She stretched her tongue out to allow Mason the view of its sparkliness.

“Yeesh, it’s even sparklier on you!”

“And I’ll bet I can make it even sparklier!” Sheila dove into the glass, swimming into the center and mustering her chi. Her light refracted off the sparkly water and caused the entire glass to glow like a gigantic lantern. The locals gazed with awe at the shining glass, wondering what phenomena was causing it to shine so splendidly.

Low on breath, Sheila ceased her glowing and resurfaced. “That was amazing, Sheila!”

“Was it? Hehe, Oi didn’t get to see it at all! Geronimo!” Sheila climbed on the rim and jumped off the glass. Mason jumped after, and like his captain, he ended up buried waist deep in the sand. “Huh?” Sheila looked and spotted a purple flapjack octopus encased in a ball of water. “’ello, mate! Did ya see me glowing?”

The creature spat a deadly blast of water at the kids. “Pueh-pu-pluh, he-e-ey, sto-op it!” Mason squirmed out of the sand and pulled Sheila away.

“Hey, go play Squirt Gun somewhere else!” Sheila yelled, shooting a Light Fist that knocked the creature down.

“I think that’s a Gushen. They’re all over the place.” Mason viewed all the similar octopi squirting around the beach.

“Those blokes would make a decent ride.” Forming an idea, Sheila jumped the Gushen like a horse and squeezed it. “WHOOOAAA!” The octopus forcibly spat out water and zoomed around the sea. “Not as fun as the Turbo Pack, but cooooooool!”

On the beach, Melody was playing volleyball with a Bubblainian, a terminal keeping track of her serves similar to the jump-rope game. “INCOMIIIING!” Sheila tugged up on the Gushen’s tentacle to fly above the volleyball court, spinning around and spewing water everywhere. The Gushen, dried and pale, plopped on the court as it gasped for water. “Darn. Out of gas.”

“Sheila!” Melody shouted. “What are you doing to that thing?”

“Takin’ it for a ride, what else?”

“You’ve freakin’ squeezed it dry!”

“Then I guess I need to fill him up again.” Sheila looked to one of the water gushes. The explorer lifted her Gushen and swam to the island with that fountain, and Mason made it on time to join her. “This oughta fill you up!” Sheila stretched the Gushen’s mouth wide and shoved it into the fountain, inflating him with the strong stream.

“Sheila, I don’t think that’s—WAAAAAHH!”

The Gushen was already blasting off, its water spurting like a rocket engine. Sheila went aloft with it, one hand holding the Gushen and another holding Mason. Melody merely watched them as they vanished beyond the cliffs, shaking her head.

…

“Aaaaaaaaahhh-!” They weren’t sure how far they flew over Odyssea, but at some point, Sheila let go of the Gushen and they plummeted to the valley below. They splashed into a river, resurfacing for breath. “Cough, keh! Sheila, you nee . . o be . ic . r to .. imal…” His voice was drowned out by roaring falls.

“WHAT?!” Sheila yelled.

“I said, you NEED to be NICER to ANIMALS!”

“NICER TO WHOOOO?”

“I SAID… WATERFAAAALL!” It was only then they realized the current was about to carry them over a cliff. They frantically swam against the current and forced their way rightward. They grabbed onto the edge of the river and climbed onto land. “Huff…huff…whoa!”

The waterfall poured off into a vast river within a valley of waterfalls pouring over an array of cliffs. They appeared to be on the highest cliff at the center of the valley. The river flowed from another waterfall pouring from the bones of a triceratops. “Mason! We flew so fast, we went back in time!”

Mason studied his map. “Holy frick! We flew way north and wound up on Fossil Falls!”

“Man, check out that dino!” Sheila pointed at the mounted corpse. “Did they used to roam this place?!”

“They didn’t used to, Sheila! They still do!” His expression in panic, Mason directed Sheila’s attention about-face:

There was a T-rex, sleeping blissfully on a hill. It looked just like in the movies, terrifying, but rather cute in its clumber. “Whoa! We gotta ride that beauty, Mason!”

“No way, Sheila!” He grabbed his excitable friend’s arm. “We’re lucky it isn’t awake trying to eat us! I’d imagine you taste pretty good.”

“Hehe, ya ever taste me before, mate?” Sheila grinned.

“Uh…I-I’m just saying, it’s dangerous.” Mason blushed.

“Then I guess we’ll go up to that dead one instead!”

The kids crossed a fallen stone pillar that was just in front of the waterfall, enjoying the spray of the mist, albeit they were already wet. There were Chain Chomps roaming the grounds, attempting to attack the explorers, but Sheila grabbed one by its chain to swing and slam it into others. Jumping and climbing further up, they reached the very top of the cliff. Sheila climbed onto the triceratops bones and sat on the skull’s nose.

_Landmark: FOSSIL FALLS_

Mason sat on the left horn of the skull, the two smiling as they admired the horizon of waterfalls. “Heh heh! I bet ya not many tourists come out here!”

“There are a lot of telephone poles though.” Mason said.

“Eh?” Looking down the cliff, Sheila had just noticed the ordinary telephone poles connected via wires, stretching down the cliff and up the great river. “Blimey, that sure ruins the nature. Where do they flippin’ go?”

“Pterodactyl!”

“Is that on the map?”

“NO, PTERODACTYL!”

Sheila looked up with a gasp, but they were already under the avian’s shadow as they were snatched in its talons. The pterodactyl flapped and lifted up with its prey. “Ha ha! We started in a plain old city, now we’re about to be pterodactyl food!” Sheila cheered, her arms free and stretched.

“You get happy for all the wrong reasons sometimes.”

“Ah, no big deal. I’ll make this beastie mine!” Sheila gripped the talons and pulled them apart, allowing her to drop loose. She hung on, climbed the leg, and up onto the back. “Huh?” Most peculiar was the blue top-hat atop the dino. “…’ey, Mason! It’s Maria!”

“Maria?!”

“Yeah! Maria’s controllin’ this thing!”

The dinosaur soared to the end of the valley, the land below covered in fog. The sky seemed to become darker as they could see buildings among the fog, as well as Hat Ships with sails. The dino landed on a gray-grass ground near the town, dropping Mason as Maria materialized from the hat. Both she and Sheila dropped to the ground beside the dizzy dino. “Hee hee!” Maria giggled. “Did you think I was going to eat you two?”

“We wouldn’t put it past you to.” Mason said. “What were you doing out there?”

“I rode there on one of the Hat Ships and decided to play with the dinos. The Bonneters have a Crazy Cap shop out there. Anyway, let me show you around! Don’t worry about this guy, he’ll find his way back.”

Bonneton was a small, ghostly town with white and black buildings, some of which ended with large black hats at the top. The only pieces of color were the yellow window lights and lanterns, as well as the looming full moon. The denizens of this monochrome town were small, white ghosts with various dark hats. “These are a race of hat spirits that naturally formed in this region.” Maria explained as they trekked down a road. “They’re called Bonneters. Around the time New Donk was founded, a human found this town and got their help to establish Crazy Cap. My mom commissioned them to make me one of their more special inventions, which you can clearly see on my head~”

“It sure is misty around here.” Mason said.

“Yeah, this town is kinda built over a sea of bottomless fog. Watch where you step.” As she spoke, the trio crossed a bridge that arched up and down several times. Mason looked over the railing at the ghostly fog sea, multiple skull signs positioned around it.

“Gulp. …I mean, those sign posts should be stationed on something, right?” But as he spoke, one of the signs seemed to fall into the fog. “Oh…”

_Landmark: BONNETON PLAZA_

The group entered a park where Bonneters were socializing. There were hat houses nearby, and one of the hats was marked with the distinct purple and yellow colors of Crazy Cap. There was a tranquil air about this place, a peaceful vibrance in this dim lit atmosphere. “For bein’ a hat place with no sunlight, it’s pretty ripper.” Sheila said. “But Oi wanna get back to someplace shiny!”

“Okay, Captan, cargo’s all loaded!” a sombrero Bonneter was saying after closing the trunk of a hat.

“Bueno! Next stop, Tostarena!”

Mason studied his map. Bonneton was close east of Fossil Falls, and Tostarena was southwest of the falls. “Sheila, let’s hitch a ride with them! …Sheila?”

“Oi, you comin’ or what, Mason?!” Sheila yelled from atop the hat.

“Gyah!” Mason rushed up, but just as the hat lifted off, he barely grabbed the rim of it in time. He pulled up onto the hat, and Sheila pulled him to the top as they held onto the sail. Within moments, the darkness of Bonneton was being replaced by daylight. They enjoyed the ride across Odyssea in calmness as the landscape below became a lush, tan desert.

They could see a town incoming as the ship lowered toward the desert. Sheila and Mason decided to jump off ahead of time, tumbling down a sand dune and becoming dusty from their soft landing. “Phew! Oi, it’s so hot out!” Sheila cheered, springing up. “There’s me sun!”

“Ugh, some of it got in my pants.” Mason whined, scratching himself. “Sigh…let’s see if they have any cool drinks in town.”

_Landmark: TOSTARENA TOWN_

They only had to cross a short mile to reach a vibrant, colorful Mexican town. There were all sorts of macabre decorations, and the denizens were sombrero-wearing skeletons with macabre skulls and hypnotic, flowery eyes. The Tostarenans were dancing exuberantly in the town square as jovial guitar music was playing. They could see Sector W7’s Aisa dancing around the musician by the fountain: he was Miguel Rivera of Sector M.

“Hola, Mason! Hola, Sheila!” Aisa called to the two. “Come to join the party?”

“Sí!” Sheila cheered, grabbing Mason and performing a hopping dance beside the other couple.

“Haha! You learning Spanish, Aisa?” Mason asked.

“Gotta learn it some day!”

“Hey, guys!” another voice called. “You enjoying the culture?”

Sheila and Mason stopped to see them. “MaKayla!” Mason beamed in surprise. “Didn’t think we’d find you here.”

“I just thought you would be wanting my help here.” MaKayla winked. “This town actually has some interesting phenomena, but you missed it. Want me to Rewind time and show you?”

“Sure! Gimme whatcha got!” Sheila agreed.

“Very well~” MaKayla stuck her Chrono Staff in the sand and expanded a bubble around this region of the desert. Rewinding time to 7:00 in the morning, a sudden chill swept over the desert, and multiple boulders of ice formed in the sand. Even the fountain froze solid, with Aisa and Miguel trapped in its iceberg. Their frozen expressions were locked in smiles, but their eyes clearly reflected shock.

“WHOA! It’s so COLD!” Sheila yelled, shivering from head to toe.

“Tostarena is close to Shiveria, and its cold air carries over. This desert is freezing during morning and nighttime, but it’s still very hot in the afternoon.”

“Deserts are usually cold at night, but this is taking it a step up.” Mason said, putting his sweater on.

“Heehee! It’s way cooler though!” Sheila beamed. “Keep it like this for a while, Kayla!”

“Hehe, sure thing, Captain.” MaKayla smiled, putting her coat on.

The friends visited an ice cream stand and purchased a bowl of sherbet ice cream, then went to buy a strawberry lemonade. The cold drinks were made with ice harvested from the icebergs during the morning. Of course, since it was now cold again, Mason and Sheila could only feel their insides freezing as much as their outsides.

A short distance past the town were ancient ruins, and a band of Goombas in cowboy hats were talking with Goombella at the stone archway. “C’mon, dolly, we’ll let ya explore the ruins, all ya gotta do is kiss one of us~” a Goomba said.

“Yeah, well I ain’t interested in any of you creeps! And I may not know what ancient civilization used to live here, but I doubt you’re related to them. You don’t own these ruins!”

“We own whatever we want!” the thug sneered as they closed in on the younger Goomba. “In fact, we’re thinkin’ of ownin’ you by force! So, ya better-”

Goombella thrusted her helmeted head against all four Goombas and KO’ed them stylishly, performing a flip after bouncing off the last one. “Blimey, what the heck did those blokes do?” Goombella turned as Mason and Sheila approached.

“Oh, Sheila! Tee hee, just dishing some discipline. These kinds of Goombas give us a bad name. So, you wanna explore the Tosty (Toasty) Ruins with me? Nagisa and Morg went ahead to check out the Inverted Pyramid.”

“The inverted what now?”

“Don’t you know about the Inverted Pyramid? It’s only, like, the biggest tourist attraction in the desert! Come on, let’s step over here and we can see it.”

They followed Goombella around the right corner of the ruins, approaching the edge of a chasm that divided parts of the desert. From here, they had view of an upside-down pyramid suspended in the air. “Blimey! How does that big old thing stay afloat?!”

“Some magic never dies.” Goombella shrugged.

“Let’s check it out from underneath, Sheils!” Mason said.

“Aye-aye!”

The trio ascended the stairs to the ruins, jumping platforms over quicksand and climbing rugged walls to reach higher levels, with Goombella riding Sheila’s back. After climbing the central tower, the crew rode some moving platforms over to a secluded island over the chasm. There were large statue head creatures roaming about, resembling Easter Island moai statues, but with sunglasses. Goombella studied them with her Tattle. “Those are Moe-Eyes! They’re pretty cowardly, but they can see invisible things with their sunglasses. I bet they can see the way across the chasm.”

“Then let’s get their help!” Sheila ran toward one.

“Moe!” The Moe-Eye perked up and scampered away, but the stone could not outrun Sheila’s swift legs while it had no legs. She gripped the Moe-Eye and hoisted it up. “Orright, you better show us the way off this island or I’ll smash you into pieces!”

“MOE!!” After being set down, the statue scurried over to one of the edges and seemed to run across the air. Mason carefully lowered his leg over that spot and felt the invisible path. With that, they followed the Moe-Eye’s path and reached the part of the desert where the pyramid floated over.

They trekked up a sandy hill to see Nagisa and Morgiana overlooking the other side. “Hm? There you are, Goombella!” Nagisa greeted. “Be careful not to slip off. There’s a big hole down there.”

Down the other side of this dune was a very slippery, sandy slope leading into a gaping hole, which seemed to be directly under the pyramid tip. “I wonder if that hole was pierced open by the pyramid itself?” Goombella said. “Either way, I still don’t see a way up.”

“Morgiana can kick us up!” Nagisa suggested. “The entrance should be close enough.”

“I guess we’ll try.” Morgiana replied. “Just be careful not to fall.”

“We’re going after you!” Sheila cheered, hopping on Mason’s back.

Morgiana lifted Nagisa, who lifted Goombella. Morgiana sprung up with a Rocket Jump and KICKED Nagisa toward the pyramid’s tip. The boy performed Moon Walks to land them on the entrance near the tip. Afterwards, Morgiana lifted Mason and Sheila, sprung up, and kicked them skyward. The duo combined their respective Gas Rocket and tail whirl to float up onto the entrance as well. “Impressive teamwork!” Nagisa grinned. “Let’s head in!”

“You go on in. I’m going up this way!” Sheila gripped the slanted side of the pyramid. “We’ll race you to the top!”

“What do you mean ‘we’?!” Mason shouted.

While Mason went inside the pyramid, Sheila had committed to climbing up the side, pouring every ounce of endurance and focus into doing so. Climbing the diagonal surface took a considerable amount of time, and it might’ve been impossible without spinning her tail. “Caaaaaw…” A hawk soared by Sheila, greeting her with its caw.

“Huff…huff…heh…” After finally clambering onto the top of the pyramid, Sheila rolled on her back. “Finally… I made it…”

“You enjoy your exercise?” Mason asked, startling Sheila with his presence.

“Ah, man, you made it first? Heh, well I still think my way’s more creative!”

“No denying that. Nagisa and Goom are still exploring inside. Seems all that’s up here are these statues.”

The duo walked around the top, examining the six statues seated around the corners. They resembled sphinx-like jaguars with big grins. Sheila patted the back of the more colorful statue. “Bet ya these blokes used to be all over the place, eh?”

“Well, we’re certainly fleet of foot.” The “statue” said.

“AAAH!” Sheila jumped back. “It talks!”

“Hello, travelers. I’m Jaxi.” It spoke on a somewhat growly voice. “We were once known as the desert taxis, but alas, I am the only one still in peak condition. I will gladly carry you across the dunes for a modest fee of 30 coins from each of you.”

“You take credit cards?” Mason asked.

Jaxi approached, open his mouth, and licked the card in question. “Tasteless, soulless, but nutritious. Okay, you can ride.”

Sheila sat on the front with Mason at her back. “Hyah!” Sheila kicked Jaxi’s sides, and the beast raced off the pyramid’s edge. “Whooooooaaaa!” They fell like a comet toward the sands and created a great splash! Ceaseless in his motion, Jaxi sprinted and burrowed out of the sand and across the desert. Sheila swerved him around, kicking up a cloud of sand in their wake. They charged toward a herd of sheep, the creatures perking and fleeing from the beast, and their Tostarenan shepherd shouted for them to come back. They also relocated their Moe-Eye escort, who panicked and tried to flee again, only to be rammed brutally in the back.

With nothing to hold them back, they rode Jaxi miles across the desert, to where they could barely see the Inverted Pyramid at their back. Jaxi sprinted up a hill as the ground changed from sand to solid earth of a unique texture. Just as they reached the top of the hill, they were nearing the edge of a gaping hole. “Uh-oh! Time to brake!” The Jaxi immediately halted before the ledge.

“Aaaaaahhh…!” The momentum sent Mason and Sheila hurdling off into the vast lake. The friends splashed in the water before resurfacing for breath. “I’m sure glad all these regions have either a body of water or something soft to break our fall.” Mason said, looking at his map. “Looks like we’re at Lake Lamode. We ran all the way southeast.”

Sheila viewed around the lake. There were several shores and a couple stairs that led up and out of the lake. The denizens of this lake seemed to be mermaids with elegant, glittering scales and flowing hair of various colors. One was seen dancing on the shore, fitting a female Goomba with a white wedding headdress, while other mermaids were swimming either on the surface or under the lake. Some were trying outfits on Cheep Cheeps as well.

As the friends dove under the lake to take in the scenic aquatic view, a beautiful sight caught their eye: an undersea plaza within a bubble-like dome, highlighted by a great, wide, flowing dress. The dress itself was not real: it was an illusion cast by the sun’s rays, and the colored fish circling around the dress further captured its beauty. The kids swam into the bottom entrance of the dome, able to catch their breath inside the oxygenated dome. There seemed to be New Donkers and other creatures socializing here.

_Landmark: WATER PLAZA_

“Oh, my~. It seems we have more new visitors.” They were approached by three mermaids with artist berets. “My, they’ve traveled quite a way in such worn and torn attire. If you’ve come looking for new clothes, you’re at the right place~”

“Who in blazes are you?” Sheila asked.

“Mason, Sheila!” The mermaids stepped aside as April Goldenweek approached, wearing a white apron with a palette design on the front, shoes that resembled brushes, and a sky-blue shirt underneath. “Welcome to Lake Lamode. Have you met the Style Sisters?”

“Yeah, a few seconds ago.” Mason replied.

“We Lochladies are the masters of fashion and style throughout all Odyssea~” one of the mermaids said. “And we, the Style Sisters are the most fashionable of all. We’ve supplied Crazy Cap with many of their costumes. Should you wish, we will happily design an outfit that works for you~”

“You can try, mate, but I don’t like any outfit that covers too much of me skin. I need me Vitamin C, hehe!” Sheila stretched her arms and legs.

“Then what about this bikini?” One of the sisters held up an orange bikini with a sun-designed top. “You’ll look very sunny wearing this!”

“I don’t wanna show THAT much skin!”

“Hyah…” Mason chuckled. Even he thought Sheila would look weird in a bikini. “By the way, how did you even get down here, April? You don’t swim.”

“I hailed a cab.”

“New Donk provides the best taxi service in the world!” said the very same driver beside his cab, which now shaped like a yellow submarine.

“The lion guy was cooler!” Sheila argued.

They could either go up stairs or use water columns to ascend to higher parts. They peeked into a barber shop and saw Aeincha tending to several Lochlady customers, trimming and braiding their silky shiny hair into various styles. “I must say, you’re very talented.” One of the other barbers said. “For someone of you’re stature, you’re incredibly thorough and efficient.”

“I’ve had a lot of great people to help me practice!” Aeincha cheered. “It’s truly an honor to work here!”

“Ha ha! Looks like Aein has realized her dream!” Mason laughed. “…Oh, look over there!” Across from the barber shop was a large, glass display of a lush, white, refined wedding dress. He and Sheila approached it. “According to the brochure, that’s the Lochlady Dress. Only the most worthy ladies are allowed to wear it at their wedding. And one of those ladies was once Princess Peach. Maybe one day, we’ll see one of our friends wearing it~”

“Doesn’t look much different from a normal wedding dress.”

“I guess you’re pretty indifferent when it comes to weddings.”

“Hey, Mason, Sheila!”

Hearing a familiar voice, the duo turned to Aurora Uno. She was wearing a light-green T-shirt with a patterned brown skirt and yellow leggings, a small orange beret on her head. “Cute outfit, Aurora!” Mason complimented.

“Thanks! Say, you wanna know how I came here?”

“How?”

Aurora led the group to the first floor, showing them a water hole that seemed to stretch a good distance down. “They use this hole for both fishing and traveling. It’s an underwater tunnel that leads to Shiveria, the snow region.”

“Thanks for the tip!” Sheila said. “I’m up for a good dive!” With that, she dove in.

“I’d rather travel on land, but okay.” Mason complied and dove in after.

“I better make sure they’re alright…” Aurora dove in as well.

The hole went several meters down before they could rest inside an air bubble chamber, where it seemed that a Toad explorer was camping. From there, they swam into the next part of the tunnel, where there was a surface to give them breath as they swam an underground river. Chunks of ice started to appear as the river became colder, so Aurora used firebending to heat up the water.

After a while of swimming, the friends arrived in a freezing, blizzarding environment, where they could step onto snowy ground. “F-f-f-f-f-f-f…” Sheila began shuddering. “Th-Th-This is way colder th-than the desert… but ain’t nearly as sunny…”

“Don’t worry, it’s not as desolate as it looks!” Aurora assured. “Follow me!”

She led them across the snowy expanse, jumping platforms over the freezing water. Large cloud creatures called Ty-foos tried to blow them off, but Mason blasted Gas Bombs at them in turn. There were block-shaped shadows along the snow with sharp teeth, and the kids jumped out of the way when serpents known as Bitefrosts tried to shoot up and bite them. “I heard of frostbite, but this is ridiculous!” Mason remarked.

After avoiding the harsh traps of the snowy wastes, they came upon a hole in the ground, a light shining from its depths. “Here we are!” Aurora announced. “Geronimooooo!” She jumped in.

“I can attest to that! Geronimooooo!” Sheila jumped in.

“At least we don’t have to hold our breeeaaaath!” Mason echoed upon his descent.

_Landmark: SHIVERIA TOWN_

The group crashed in a pile of snow. After climbing out, they found their selves in an underground town that resembled Scandinavia, inhabited by chubby, fluffy polar bear citizens in knitwear, and torches adding a hint of warmth and light to the town. The Shiverians actually seemed like hybrids of bears and seals. “Blizzards are incredibly common aboveground, so they made home underground. I hear these people are also native to Glacia.” Aurora explained. “Some of them migrated here, bringing their culture and even their Frost-Frosted Cake!”

After the group purchased some hot cocoa at a stand, Aurora led them to the furthest side of town, where citizens gathered at a great glass wall overlooking a racetrack. Shiverians were bouncing their rotund bodies along the track, using slopes to cut corners or adjust their speed while avoiding other obstacles. Luckily, this area wasn’t blizzarding thanks to some Shiverian icebenders. “Bound Bowl is their favorite sport.” Aurora said. “Unfortunately, you need the right girth to participate.”

“I don’t need girth!” Sheila stated. “I just got me a great idea!” She ran back a few feet, then charged forward before smashing through the glass. “I call this SUN BOWL!” She encased her body in a Light Sphere, crashing on the track with a bounce just in time to join the racers’ next lap.

_“Whoa! It seems a new racer with a strange, bright body has joined the race!”_

“Yahooooo!” Sheila cheered, maintaining the bouncy light enough to keep up with the crowd. “I wish I thought of this before!”

“Uh…is she allowed to do that?” Mason asked.

“She’s sure not the first one.” George King replied.

“Huh?” Mason turned to the albino boy in a purple coat. “Oh, hey George! Almost didn’t see you!”

“Yeah, I came here with Suki. And naturally, Terry went somewhere else.”

“Where is she?”

“Take a wild guess~”

“Whoooaaa!” Sheila’s face was whirling during her bouncing. “How do these guys see where they’re going?! Aaaaahhh!” She crashed into another Shiverian as both snow and light seemed to meld together and crash on the track.

Realizing that the other racer seemed to break into snow, Sheila’s head stuck within it, the other racers stopped to look over her. Sheila pulled her head out of the snow, which then reformed into Suki Crystal. “Hey, you’re that raccoon girl!” Suki beamed.

“Suki? Where’d you come from?”

“I became a Snow Bear to join the race! But I guess you caught me, tee hee!”

“Hey! Neither of these girls are girthy!” A Shiverian stated. “They must’ve been wearing some kinda suits or something!”

“If you can’t put in the time to put on weight, you don’t get to race! Let’s get ’em!”

“Run, Raccoon!” Suki grabbed the taller girl and skied away from the pursuing, bouncing bears. They skied off the racetrack and across the snowy wilds as the blizzards picked up.

Mason, George, and Aurora hurried to the track and followed their direction, the latter using icebending to clear some of the mist away. They found no sign of the girls or the Bound Bowlers in the blizzard. “SHEILAAAA! SUKIIII! Where are you?!” Mason called.

“OI!” Sheila sprung out of a snow pile.

“GYAH! Sheila, where’s Suki?!”

“She hid me under that snow and led those racers away from me.”

“Suki can meld with the snow, so they’ll have a hard time finding her.” George inferred. “Still, we better keep looking.”

As the group traversed the snows, they could make out a colossal, shadowy dome through the mist. They decided to follow its direction, but as they drew closer—“Whooooaa!” Mason nearly fell off a cliff before Aurora caught him. The four looked up at the imposing structure… and as the blizzard cleared up a tad, they could see it was a gigantic greenhouse, where moss and leaves seemed to be growing on a red, mechanical structure. Mason fished out his map from his sweater. “Those must be the Steam Gardens! We’re just about on the western side of Shiveria, southwest of Tostarena.”

“Maybe Suki went in there!” Sheila cheered, eager to go into the greenhouse.

“Maybe, but I’ll keep checking the snows, just in case.” George said.

“I’ll go with you.” Aurora offered. “Have fun in the greenhouse!”

There was a metal bridge nearby for Mason and Sheila to cross to the greenhouse entrance. The slide-open door welcomed them into a warm lobby, where a Toad waited at the desk. “Welcome to Steam Gardens! Visitors must pay 100 coins to explore the greenhouse.”

“Mighty generous fee.” Mason said, scanning Carol’s credit card.

“Alright then! Enjoy the flowers!” The Toad pressed a button to open the next door. Mason and Sheila entered a forest of tall, thick trees, the chirping of birds and sounds of nature easing their hearts after their venture through the wilderness.

Mason followed as Sheila climbed up one of the trees like a natural citizen of the forest. She perched herself on a branch and overlooked the mechanical gardens. “The Steam Gardens are actually an intergalactic company with greenhouses built on several planets.” Mason explained shortly before reaching her level. “They preserve all kinds of plants from the plants. I mean, planets.”

“Let’s plan to plant planet plants!” Sheila cheered. “Hehe, that’d make a fun tongue twister!”

From here, the duo could jump down onto a natural wall dividing the forest from a deeper forest. They followed the path up and into the mechanical fortress. Yellow robots designed like large watering cans were rolling around and watering a great variety of plants, some in pots on shelves and others in the ground. “And those would be the Steam Gardeners, robots specially designed to run the facility and water all the plants. Honestly, kinda lazy on the company’s part.”

“On the bright side, these gardeners were programmed to be very in love with their job.”

“Oh, Arianna!” Sheila greeted the purple-skinned alien. “How’d I expect to see you here?”

“As much as I expect to see you everywhere.” Arianna giggled. “Sheila, do you remember those large dandelion fluffs from Delfino? They recently got them for these gardens. Take a look!” She pointed up at the central tower, which had a wide, round top portion. Small dandelion spores were rising out from the top and drifting around the gardens, much to the awe of the visitors.

Arianna led her friends up to that tower, crossing a grassy hill that led to its entrance. “Oof!” Mason tripped on something, which was revealed to be a large, green frog.

“Oh, that’s a Coin Coffer!” Arianna said. “It coughs coins. They’re supposed to be rather rare.”

Sitting up on his knees, Mason stared at the yellow-eyed frog. “Ow!” It spat a coin at his face before hopping away. Afterwards, the group proceeded to the tower, overlooking a shaft from which the spores flew up. “Geronimo, Sheila?” Mason asked.

“What he saaaiiid!” Sheila jumped in. Mason and Ari fell after.

_Landmark: FLOWER FIELD_

A cushion of flowers broke their fall. They were somewhere deep within the base with an expansive, diverse field of flowers. The giant dandelions were swaying in the wind of fans as their spores detached and ascended. “Mason, you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”

“Aerial tour of Steam Gardens?”

“Somethin’ like that.”

…

“WOOHOOOOOO!” Within seconds, the duo came flying out of the tower on a dandelion. They glided and descended around the fortress, earning the attention of tourists and Steam Gardeners alike. They became slightly dizzy from the fluff’s rotating, its spores steadily flying off. “Sh-Sheila? We’re drifting a little far from land!” Indeed, the friends were currently drifting by the entrance cliff, but had sunk too low to grab onto it. Furthermore, their dandelion had run out of spores, so their descent increased. “Aaaaaaaahhhh…!” With nothing to save them, they were inevitably lost to the trees below.

_Secret Landmark: DEEP WOODS_

They brushed through a surface of leaves and fell down the towering trees of the dark forest. They crashed on the ground with a thud. “Ow! I guess our soft landing streak is over…”

“Yeh, but I’m still chipper!” Sheila stood straight and stretched.

The duo could do little but explore the woods, the trees forming a ceiling of leaves that completely blocked the sun. Mason squinted his eyes to view the map. “This place isn’t even mapped. All the brochure says is that tourists aren’t allowed down here. Ugh, there’s gotta be some way back up!”

_Boom. Boom._

“Huh?” They perked up. “Sheila, did the ground just quake?”

“Unless that was me doin’ a small jump. Ugh, I hope I don’t make that a habit.”

_Boom. Boom._

The sounds were getting closer. …Mason and Sheila slowly turned around… and their pupils shrank in panic: a T-Rex had crept up on them. It looked far more intimidating than the one at Fossil Falls for the fact it was awake. _“ROOOAAR!”_

“AAAAAAHH!” The duo bolted just as the dino snapped its fangs. The forest rumbled with its footfalls, the kids glanced left and right frantically in search of an exit. “Split up, we can confuse him!” Mason suggested, the two running separate directions.

Sheila glanced back, seeing the beast on her tail. “I guess he wants me more! AAH!” Sheila yanked her tail back just before the dino could bite it off.

“Dang it!” Mason cursed as he kept running. “Whoa!” He tripped on something invisible. It was once again revealed to be a Coin Coffer. “Hey, you! Help me save Sheila!” Mason pounced on the frog’s back, gripping tight as it began to hop around with terrific height. They hopped after the dino, seeing its hulking body shift up and down as they drew closer. They bypassed the T-Rex and caught up to Sheila, Mason pulling her onto the frog. The Coffer kept hopping with the dino at their backs.

“Now I can get a good shot off him!” Sheila spun her fist and charged a Light Sphere. When the Coffer was at the height of a bounce, she leapt off, went above the dinosaur, and SLAMMED her fist against its head! The beast roared and tumbled over unconscious.

Mason got off the Coin Coffer as it hopped away. “C’mon, let’s get away before it wakes up!”

“Mason, Sheila! There you are!” They looked up and saw Arianna lowering via some vines. “When I saw you fall down here, I got a bit worried. They don’t let people down here because of the dinosaur.”

“Is there a way out?” Mason asked.

“When I told them you guys fell down here, they said the passage was currently undergoing maintenance. But they said they also grew beanstalks down here. We can use one to get out.”

The group located a silver Steam Gardener watering a patch of soil. _“Error! Organic life forms should not be down here! Does not compute!”_

“Are you growing a beanstalk here?” Arianna asked.

_“Affirmative.”_

“Let me offer a hand.” Arianna channeled a surge of chi onto the beanstalk as it dramatically burst up and stretched into the sky. Mason and Sheila grabbed on, flying up beyond the leaves, above the edge of the gardens, and rising ever higher up to the dome of the facility.

“Whooooaa! Arianna, we’re going too high!!” Mason cried.

“Look, Mommy!” A little human girl pointed. “It’s like from the giant movie!”

“I told you not to watch that!” the mother shouted, covering the girl’s eyes.

_“Alert! Rampant beanstalk detected! Open emergency hatch!”_

A part of the dome opened, allowing the beanstalk to rise out of it, taking Mason and Sheila as well. They were exposed to the cold air of Shiveria and continued rising to the cloudy sky.

Submerged in the clouds, the two were prompted to hold their breath when it seemed they were surrounded by water. In a second, they seemed to surface, so they took a breath. “Huuuff! What the… we’re above the clouds?”

Mason and Sheila viewed around. Surrounding them for miles was a white sea. They were above the sea of clouds. Twilight loomed in the horizon, casting a slight, lovely orange glow over the clouds. The temperature felt warmer up here than Shiveria, yet still a gentle cool. “Hehe! ’Guess we went a little too high!” Sheila grinned. “Hey, what’s that?”

Across the sea appeared to be a humongous archway made of clouds. Sheila’s interests were peaked as she began to swim across the cloud sea, Mason following. It was more difficult to maintain balance and composure on the lightweight surface, but they managed it, steadily closing the distance to the arch. By the time they were underneath the arch, small flower petals made of cloud were seen drifting around them beautifully.

_Landmark: NIMBUS ARENA_

The kids kept swimming until they could finally climb onto a mass of solid cloud. It was a great arena with eight circles around the edges, each depicting phases of the moon. As they viewed back at the arch, the partial moon was cast against the arch near the top center. “Hmmm…” Mason studied the brochure. “Okay, this is apparently called Nimbus Arena. It’s a Sky Island that commonly drifts over Odyssea. They speculate that it was once connected to the Nimbus Tribe, but even they’ve forgotten its history. I wonder if they held some sort of ritual using phases of the moon?”

Sheila removed her shoes to enjoy the soft feel of the cloud. The peace, quiet, and lack of visitors created a relaxing atmosphere that eased their minds. Sheila let her mind wander as she wandered about the empty arena. “Ahhhh.” Sheila sighed and lay back on the clouds. Mason smiled and lay beside her. They let their minds drift with the clouds and become one with the fluff.

“…?” When Mason glanced right, he noticed some odd indenting: they were shaped like Anthony and Fybi’s faces. “Haha! Sheila, look, someone was here before us!”

“Hehehe! Well, we better mark our place, too!” With that, Mason and Sheila pressed their faces into their own spot of the cloud. Unfortunately, when they pulled out, those indents puffed back into flat cloud.

“Oh. I guess Anthony and Fybi did it thanks to her airbending. Kinda like how Anthony makes indents with earthbending.”

“Then we just gotta smash harder!” Sheila spun her fist, built strength, and SMASHED a fist-shaped dent into the cloud. Mason guzzled down a Flurp, pressed his face in the cloud, and “BUUUURRRP!” The gas spread around like a flat explosion, leaving a mouth-shaped dent in the cloud.

“Eh, good enough.” Mason said.

“HAHAHAHA hahahahahahaha!” Sheila fell and rolled around in laughter. Mason’s heart felt aflutter by her joy, the only sound to fill the air of this arena. “Ha ha ha ha…! Orright then!” She sprung up. “Let’s go to the next place!”

“Right! …How do we get down?”

“Let’s just swim below the clouds. We were above the snow place, we’ll just land in another fluffy pile.”

“I reckon.”

The kids grabbed their shoes and proceeded to dive and swim down the clouds. They soon emerged from the bottom, plummeting toward a purple lake. “!!! THAT’S NOT SHIVERIA! AAAAAAHHH!”

Fortunately, there was an island to break their fall, the duo bouncing off some large, tropical leaves that resulted in a fairly soft landing. “Whoa… that could’ve ended badly.”

The island seemed to be surrounded by a toxic lake. The leaves were thick and colorful, and the sunset highlighted its exotic beauty. Mason studied the map. “This is the Forgotten Isle, an island visited by few due to its toxic water and dangerous creatures. But there is a Crazy Cap branch at the top of that mountain.” Mason pointed. “Heh, I guess this island gets decent traffic. Let’s go and—whoa!” He walked forward, but stopped when a huge, Tropical Wiggler stretched in the way. The colorful caterpillar retracted after a moment. “And let’s be careful.”

Mason and Sheila traversed up the jungle, fighting off Green Fuzzies, a Klepto vulture that tried to take from their pockets, Putrid Piranha Plants, and Trapeetles, which were large, metal beetles that tried to grab them in big hands and explode. “Gah, blimey!” Sheila began developing bug bites on her legs and arms, scratching them aggressively. “The big bugs are no problem, it’s these flippin’ small bugs that are so bloomin’ annoying!”

_Landmark: THE FORGOTTEN STORE_

They reached the highest ledge and could climb the rest of the way to the top of the mountain. There was a Toad ship with Crazy Cap’s logo, as well as a small plane with a pilot in brown gear. “Mason? Sheila?” Haylee Gilligan tipped her goggles up. “How did you get here?”

“We fell from the sky.” Mason replied. “What’re you doing here, Haylee?”

“Just kind of scouting this place for Augustus. If you want, I can give you a lift to Mount Volbono. He’s there right now.”

“I don’t approve of you hangin’ out with him.” Sheila glared.

“Don’t be mad at me, Captain!”

“Haha!” Mason laughed. “Alright, give us a lift. We got nowhere else to go.”

“Do ya have any itch cream?” Sheila asked.

“They sell that in this shop as well.”

“I’m startin’ to love Crazy Cap!”

After purchasing the cream, the duo climbed in Haylee’s plane and took off from the island. The Forgotten Isle was southeast of Shiveria and Steam Gardens, and Mount Volbono was located far across the continent, northwest of New Donk. Volbono was a volcano composed of some sort of bread-like substance, with neon-colored cliffs and walls. There was an island in the center of the crater of pink, boiling soup, with a smaller volcano that had a giant pot boiling on top. The denizens resembled large forks with beady eyes on their colored handles, using their outer prongs as hands to hold food or other utensils.

“Can we skip this town?” Sheila asked.

“WHAT?!” Mason yelped in utter shock at her blatant, surprising request.

“I dunno, it’s just… after that whole Cooking Fest fiasco, the mood ain’t really right, anymore. Besides, I remember these guys, I ate some of their food at the festival.”

“Oh yeah, and you started breathing fire.” Mason laughed, remembering this. “Eh, sure, I can see where you’re coming from. It still looks pretty though.”

“In that case,” Haylee replied, “why don’t we fly a little further? Let’s go to one of the coolest places on the continent!”

Miles beyond the colorful and tasty Volbono, they were flying along the northwestern-most portion of Odyssea, a jaggy strip of land that would end in a curved point. The land became darker and the sky covered in ominous clouds. They could make out the ruins of a colossal, gothic castle.

Haylee landed them on one of the castle walkways. An eerie wind howled through the dead, vacant halls. The highest tower of the castle appeared to have a plainly ripped chunk missing from it, but was otherwise still standing. Only bats and crows seemed to flock about these ruins. “What the heck is this place…?” Mason asked.

“Crumbleden.” Haylee replied.

“It really lives up to its name.” Sheila remarked.

“It really stands out among other regions on Mushroom. Researchers have no idea what culture used to live here, or what they did. However, only one notable inhabitant remains.”

“Who’s that?” Mason asked.

“Let’s find them.”

The crew made the long journey toward the center tower and were able to climb it despite its missing chunk. Though there were few to disturb them besides bats and crows, they could not escape this eerie chill in the air.

_Landmark: DRAGON’S TOWER_

Once at the top of the tower, they already spotted three figures: “Miyuki, Terry, Lola!”

The three kids of Sector IC turned away from the edge. “Oh, dudes! Haha, you almost scared me!” Lola laughed. “We thought there were more survivors here after all!”

“What do you mean more survivors?” Mason asked, approaching them. “Who else is here besides-”

 _“ROOOOOOAAAARRR!”_ A humongous, black dragon swooped down from the sky. The kids braced their guard as the dragon gripped the side of the tower, shaking it upon impact. _“Roooooaaaar…”_ The inside of the dragon’s mouth brimmed with purple electricity. However, rather than attack them… the dragon plopped its head onto the tower’s top, its eyes dreary. _“So… tired…”_

“Uhhhh…what?” Mason asked.

“We found him up here sleeping.” Terry explained. “I guess we woke him up, then he just started flying around. He’s totally harmless.”

“So… did dragons use to live here or something?” Mason asked.

“Yeah…” Miyuki approached the beast and put her hand to him. “He’s had a pretty intense past…”

“That’s right, you can look at things’ history.” Mason remembered. “So… what happened to this place?”

“…I don’t think he wants me to tell you.”

“Well, this place has merit in its mystery.” Haylee shrugged. “We couldn’t just _ruin_ that. …Haha. Get it? Ruins?”

“Comedy gold.” Terry remarked. “Anyway, best to just leave him here and rest. We should go, it’s getting late.”

“I agree.” Mason replied. “Also, Haylee, why couldn’t we have just landed here?”

“I thought Sheila would enjoy the journey. Did you guys park nearby?” Haylee asked.

“We hailed a cab.” Lola said.

“New Donk provides the best taxi service in the world!” The taxi driver parked on the dragon’s head.

“You must be filthy stinkin’ rich!” Mason yelled.

…

Mason and Sheila rode the taxi back to Tostarena, the desert sky decorated beautifully with stars. Sheila was notably chilly, but it didn’t outweigh the marvel of the frosty desert, the icebergs reflecting beautifully in the moonlight. As they traversed, mummified Tostarenans called Chinchos emerged from the sand. “Whoa!” Sheila yelped, punching Light Spheres at the mummies. They merely dispersed for a second before running toward the fleshies again.

“Let’s just head to town!” Mason suggested, rushing back to Tostarena Town. Luckily, there appeared to be magic posts that kept the Chinchos at bay, allowing them sanctuary in the town.

“It’s dangerous to be outside town at night.” A citizen told them. “Koopas have Drybones, Goombas have Skullbas, we got our own version of undead, hombre.”

“Hah, we’ll be careful.” Mason said. “We were probably about to turn in, anyway.”

“Oi, there’s Suki!” Sheila pointed.

Across the desert, Suki was racing Jaxi on her own snow-made Jaxi, her gleeful cheers adding life to the desert, and fearless of the horde of Chinchos chasing her. “Well, at least she’s okay.” Mason said. “Ow!” He was hit in the head by Aisa.

“That’s for making MaKayla freeze the desert!” Aisa yelled. “You could’ve helped us out of that ice!” She bonked Sheila’s head next.

“It’s okay, Aisa!” Miguel chuckled. “It all worked out in the end. Hey, the inn lets people up on the roof. Let’s go up there for a bit.”

The four sat on the edge of the roof, admiring the view of the desert, from its icebergs, the floating pyramid, and Suki and Jaxi’s race from the Chinchos. Miguel strummed a relaxing tune that complimented the scenery. “Here’s to another fun day with friends~”

“And another day of Sheila running rampant on a ton of towns.” Aisa remarked.

“’ey, I did pretty good on this run.” Sheila said. “Barely ruined anyone’s day.”

“It’s true.” Mason followed. “She was pretty reserved this time. …I hope that Gushen’s okay though. And the T-Rex.”

“Ah, beasties usually turn out okay.” Sheila grinned, huddling up to Mason for warmth. “So, after tomorrow, where are we headed to next?”

“Next on our list is the Origami Kingdom.”

“Origami? Ain’t that like a thing you do with papers?”

“Basically, but I heard it’s a pretty neat place!”

“Then I expect it to hold up to its neatness!”

**Sheila rewards Odyssea a 9 out of 10! There’s a ton of cool and weird things to see, but the human city coulda used a bit more weirdness. …Orright, I guess the flying taxis were cool. 9.3 outta 10 then!**


	4. Adventure 4: Origami Kingdom (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sheila and her friends explore the Origami Kingdom!

**Let’s celebrate the newest _Paper Mario_ title by exploring the Origami Kingdom!**

****

**_

Adventure 4: Origami Kingdom

_**

****

Trees surrounded them for miles as Cheren zoomed through the forest on the R.O.A.D.S.T.A.R., Mason and Sheila in the back. “Oi, for an Origami Kingdom, there sure is a lot of trees!” Sheila said, standing on her seat like a giddy dog. “Is that what origami means?”

“No, but I feel like we took one too many turns.” Mason said. “Cheren, are we lost?”

“I coulda sworn I’ve been following the map exactly.” Cheren replied, glancing at a map. “Sigh, let’s pull over and check…” He slowed the car to a halt on the dirt road and examined it.

_“Is he using a map? Hehe, what a fool~”_

Cheren cocked a brow. “Did you guys say something?”

“It wasn’t us, mate.” Sheila replied.

_“Looks like they got lost, oh no~”_

“There it was again.” Mason said. “Someone’s whispering in the woods!”

“The map actually reads this as the Whispering Woods.” Cheren informed. “Could that mean…”

“‘EY, who’s talkin’?!” Sheila shouted. “Instead of snickering at us, a little direction would be helpful!”

_“That one’s loud~ She sounds rude~ Let’s tick her off more~”_

“Grrrrr! QUIT HIDING!” Sheila jumped out and PUNCHED one of the pine trees, causing it to snap and topple over.

“OOOOW!” cried the tree as it grew eyes. “That really hurt!”

“AAAH! It talks!” Mason cried.

All the other trees grew eyes. “She broke Brickle in two!”

“Who are these strangers anyhow?” a lady tree asked.

“Blimey!” Sheila yelled. “Ah’m sorry, I didn’t know you were alive! Cheren, do we have any tape?”

The tree stump grew eyes. “I think what you mean to say is, you didn’t know we were sentient, as trees are technically living things.”

“YOU WERE TWO PEOPLE?!”

“Do I hear Sheila’s voice already?” a soft voice asked with a chuckle. The sounds of twigs crunching could be heard as Arianna approached them. “Oh, dear. What have you done here?”

“These trees were snickering at Sheila, so she broke one.” Mason replied. “Can you fix him?”

“I suppose I’ll try, but there’s another tree I’m trying to fix right now. …What’s this?” Arianna noticed something fallen beside the tree: a large, shriveled seed. “Ah! That’s just what I need!” She picked the seed up. “Come with me, let me show you something!”

As they followed her through the woods, several twigs cracked under their feet, accompanied by yelps of, “Ow! Oof! Yowch! Kwek!” Those twigs each had tiny pairs of eyes.

Arianna led them to a wide, clear pond. She held the seed in a vine and lowered it into the water. That area of the pond glowed as the seed puffed to a round, light-brown shape, lush with life. “This is a Spring of Restoration.” Arianna explained. “Its chi possesses healing properties akin to a waterbender. It’s the only thing that can fully restore a Soul Seed.”

“A Soul Seed?” Mason asked. “That sure sounds important. What’re you doing with that?”

“Helping someone in need.” Arianna said as she proceeded into the forest.

In a rather dim-lit area, there was a stump, much larger and wider than the surrounding trees. That stump had an old mustache under its eyes. “Oh, dear, sweet girl… you found a Soul Seed…”

“Of course, Mr. Grandsappy. I promised I would.” Arianna smiled. “Will this help to restore your youth?”

Grandsappy opened his withered mouth, allowing Arianna to place the seed inside. He chewed it weakly. “Mmmm…this Soul Seed is so fresh! I feel…I FEEL… gooooOOOOOOOD!” The shriveled stump miraculously erected to a towering size, growing leaves atop his head and two branch arms to either side. “HO HOOOO! That’s the most lubricating seed I’ve eaten in ages! Come get some, ladies!”

A band of slender lady trees slid beside him and began jigging to his lyrics. _“I’m feelin’ kinda sappy now, I wanna get sappy with you~”_

 _“Sappy sappy… Really get him happy~”_ Two trees hugged Grandsappy and twerked their lower areas.

_“When I get super happy, I get big and burly, too~”_

_“Grow it, grow it~”_ The lady trees grew apples. _“We’re ripe and we know it~”_

 _“And I’m gonna keep on growin’~”_ Grandsappy grew two large acorns.

_“With them Sweet Sap Loggins~”_

_“So it’s time to get on goin’~”_

_“Here we go, go, goin’… now!”_ There was a burst of confetti as all the trees posed.

“. . . . . .” Neither Mason, Sheila, nor Arianna knew had to respond. “This place has nothing to do with origami.” said Mason.

The trio could hear Grandsappy’s distant vocals as they followed a road up a forest hill. A row of white fences blocked the road, but Sheila casually pushed one down. “Hey! You aren’t supposed to be back there!” the fence whined.

“Stop. No one’s allowed in the forest.” This voice came from a wooden sign in front of the fences, though it spoke sarcastically.

“Yeh, what’re you gonna do about it?” Sheila smirked, flicking the sign.

“No. Don’t. Stop. Or I, a motionless sign, will make you stop, person with legs and mobility.”

“Sheila, don’t pick on the sign.” Mason requested. The woods became more clear as it seemed they were nearing the edge, for a town was visible in the distance. There were tents set up as it seemed they were at a campsite of Toads. There were red and white banners strung up between tall wood posts, and jovial, but quiet music playing on speakers on two of the posts.

_Landmark: TOAD’S BBQ FOODEATERY_

“Oi, a swing set!” Sheila beamed, taking a seat on a wood swing. “Hee hee! Mason, gimme a push!” Mason smiled and gladly went behind to give his friend a starting push. “Haha! Wheeee!” Before long, she was swaying to and fro with good height, her legs stretching in and out with a rush of adrenaline. “I love this place already!”

“Just be careful, you’re quite a hefty one.” The swing said.

“AAAH!” Sheila fell back and off. “Agh, why is everything alive here?! Is this flippin’ Sweetopia?”

“Sentient plants are rather common on Mushroom.” Arianna said. “But even carved up into pieces like this, it’s still surprising.”

They crossed a bridge, and with each step, the boards grew eyes and sang, “Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti, Don’t mind me!” There were picnic tables under a roof, a fireplace with a grill set up, and a stack of firewood near it.

“Howdy, travelers.” greeted a Toad by the fireplace. “We were just about to grill this clam straight from the Great Sea. Care to join us?” They had placed a large clam shell on the grill.

“Not what I expected for forest food.” Mason remarked. “But does the firewood appreciate it?”

“Don’t feel bad for us.” The firewood said. “We’ll just turn into ashes and become trees all over again.”

The stack of wood each grew eyes. “We hope we get to burn one day. Yaaaaaay!”

“At least they’re happy.” Mason said.

“Oh, my. Is that Grandsappy I see?” asked a Toad in a ranger’s uniform. “Alright, which one of you kids grew Grandsappy back to full size? His dancing disturbs some of my visitors!”

“Oh, that was me.” Arianna replied sheepishly. “He looked so sad, so I just wanted to help.”

“Oh well. I’ll just have to chop him down again.” The Toad withdrew an axe. “Wouldn’t mind an extension for my cabin.”

“Ho ho!” the nearby cabin bellowed with a deep voice. “An extension would be quite lovely!”

“Sheila, let’s get out of here.” Mason insisted uncomfortably. “Wait, where’s Cheren?”

Cheren had wandered off into a different direction, eyes fixed on his map. “…Well, here’s a spike pit. Do I turn right here? Or from that one?”

“I’ll go look for him.” Arianna offered, returning backward. “Don’t get lost yourselves!”

Mason and Sheila followed the road down from the campsite, past the entrance arch. They soon came upon the main road, turning left from the forest path and reaching Origami Town. Most of the houses were constructed with folded paper, though some like the museum were made of normal stone. There were two papier-mâché Toad statues to greet visitors, and there was a wide garden across a river on the opposite side of town. Origami birds were fluttering about the town among normal birds.

“So, these buildings are made outta paper or somethin’?” Sheila asked.

“I assume it’s a special paper that can hold up against weather or natural hazards.” Mason said. “I wouldn’t go raising your fist though, Sheila. According to the brochure, they hold the Origami Festival on July 17. They make papier-mâché giants of various creatures and use magic to make them walk, and the highlight of the festival is when they make a full origami replica of Peach’s Castle.”

“So, origami is basically like taking paper and folding it in 3D shapes, right? And ya gotta be super careful and detailed with it?”

“Yep, that’s correct.”

“Ay, then count me out. Me brain hurts just thinking about it.”

“Hyeah, I wouldn’t wanna try it either. Still don’t stop me from admiring the craft.”

“Yeh, Oi reckon. So, where to first, mate?”

“There’s a sky tram that’ll take us to Overlook Mountain, but if we head northeast to Picnic Road, that’ll lead up to the same place.”

“Well, Mason, you know we Mobians like to be on our feet!” Sheila readily raced toward the northeast. Motivated by her positivity, Mason chased after. The duo passed by a fountain, wherein a Toad was chilling on top of the spout, then across a bridge before following a path up a hill.

Picnic Road was a pleasant, vast hill full of butterflies, flowers, and diverse visitors. A swan was swimming in a pond, and a Toad child was tossing pellets into the pond for the swan to eat. The duo saw Emily Garley go into a high-tech Toad House. Although curious what she was doing, they also spotted Sector W7 relaxing on a picnic blanket, their shoes lain outside of it as crackers, bread, and tea filled their tummies. “Ahoy, guys!” Mason greeted. “I guess it ain’t called Picnic Road for nothin’!”

“No duh!” Aisa cheered. “The grass here is so soft and the air is so nice!”

“The butterflies really like visitors!” Apis grinned as some butterflies fluttered around her. “Huh? Yes, that raccoon girl can be a bit reckless, be careful around her.”

“I thought you woulda been making origami by now, April.” Sheila said.

“That’ll come later. First, I wanna turn my brain off and enjoy nature.”

“I think I’m gonna try origami, too!” Aeincha cheered. “I heard that if you make 1,000 origami cranes, your wish gets granted!”

“That sounds like it’ll take forever.” Sheila remarked. “Hey, where’s Mocha? She’s usually the first of you lot that catches my eye.”

“Mochan went with the giants to the mountain.” Chimney pointed. “There’s also a temple thingy down that cliff.”

“Let’s check out the temple, Sheila.” Mason suggested.

“Orright.”

_Landmark: EARTH VELLUMENTAL TEMPLE_

They followed some stairs leading down the cliff. There were souvenir shops set up outside a temple built into the cliff, with Koopa monks guarding it. “Welcome, travelers, to the Earth Vellumental’s Sanctuary.” A Koopa greeted. “You may explore the temple at your leisure, but please do not damage any property or push too hard against anything, and photography is forbidden. We will also happily accept your courteous donations.”

“Of course you will.” Mason remarked. “Hey, there’s a popcorn machine. Might as well make a ‘donation’ to that.”

With bags of popcorn in hand, the friends stepped into the temple. They followed a fenced path above a chasm. There were lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling and the cave gave off the faint smell of a museum. There was red box labeled _Temple Origins (10 coins)_. Mason deposited a dime. The box began to play a droll, peaceful tune as colored lights highlighted stones across the chasm. _“Legend says the spirit of the dirt, known as the Earth Vellumental, lives in this very cave. It is a mighty spirit, imbued with the power to lift the very ground. It is no wonder that the meek and modest Koopa Troopa venerate it so, via pilgrimage and gifts.”_

“Siiiigh.” Sheila sighed.

The duo slowly traversed along the passage, listening to other boxes that told of the Vellumental. A box compared the spirit’s impervious shell to a lone boulder, which itself was impenetrable. There was a box beside a clawed scratch in the wall, claiming that scratch was made by the spirit itself. The tour ended at a box beside a carved drawing of a turtle. It looked very kiddish and simple.

A spotlight highlighted the turtle. _“You are looking at a holy image representing the full, glorious form of the Earth Vellumental itself. Although the spirit is fully invincible, kindly direct your attention now to the beast’s great tail. In certain… tales, the spirit’s-”_

“YAAAA!” Anthony McKenzie jumped through the cardboard turtle, landing on the box and posing proudly. “Huhu, that Earth Vellumental was such a pushover!”

“Anthony?!” Mason exclaimed.

“Oh, hey guys. I just went to challenge the Earth Spirit in this cave. I really got a workout!”

“You’re gonna get in trouble, Big Brother.” Diancie said, poking her head out from behind the hole.

“Ah, can it, Michelle.”

“Achoo!” Sheila sneezed from some dust. “Oi, museum tours make me stiff. Let’s go somewhere else, Mason.”

“Uh, okay.”

Backtracking over their trail of dropped popcorn, the two exited the temple and trekked back up to Picnic Road. They bypassed a small golf course and followed the hill up an enclosed path. The path led to the base of a towering mountain, segmented into mostly cliffs with paths leading to each one. A tower was built at the top, overlooking the mountain, and there was a tram station. There was a path down to a river where a Koopa was peacefully fishing. “And this would be Overlook Mountain.” Mason confirmed. “Fittingly, it overlooks nearly the whole kingdom.”

“I haven’t climbed anything in a good long while.” Sheila smiled. “This seems like a good place to start!”

_Landmark: OVERLOOK TOWER_

After a heart-pumping race up the mountain, the two reached the glass door entrance of the tower. However, before entering, the crew followed a path downward to a small field, where Karin was playing soccer with Jinta, with Masaru Daimon to act as the goalie. “Hey, Mase and Sheils.” Karin greeted. “This mountain’s a real cool place for sports! I heard a ton of pro teams come here to practice.”

“It’s gonna be me and her against the giants!” Jinta cheered. “But I sure ain’t afraid!”

“Ah, so that’s where Mocha is.” Mason pointed from the edge of the field. Further down was a wider field, where Sind Diego was competing against Mocha with a giant soccer. Konbu was using his hefty build to protect the long goal line.

Mocha kicked the ball toward an opening, but Konbu jumped and bounced the ball away. It flew toward Sind, who swung a mighty, impulsive kick that sent it flying up to the smaller field. “Uh-oh! Too strong!”

Sheila swung a Light Kick and blasted the ball up to her left. Mason and the others grit their teeth anxiously as it was falling toward the Picnic Road. The giant ball SQUISHED Sector W7 and their picnic before bouncing down the hill, much to the panic of the civilians along its way. “Uh…oopsie.” Sheila said. “Ahem, let’s go in the tower!” Sheila rushed back up with Mason following, leaving JP and GT to hurry downhill.

The entrance to the tower seemed to be a souvenir shop, selling flags, bobble heads, and other merchandise representing various sports teams for Mushroom World. “You root for any of these teams, Sheila?”

“You know I ain’t a sports girl, mate. Let’s just climb to the top.”

There were people dining at the indoor restaurant on the 2nd floor, as well as the outdoor, rooftop tables of the third floor. From here, they rode the elevator to the 4th floor, where they followed stairs up to the top of the tower. This appeared to be the highest point in the kingdom. To either side were two binocular posts. Mason deposited some coins, allowing Sheila to examine the view. “Strewth! There’s a big orange mountain way out there!”

“Yeah, that’s Autumn Mountain.” Mason replied. “The sky tram will carry us to it. And this one’ll give us a look at the sea.” He walked to the other binoculars and deposited coins. He viewed inside… gazing deep into Zach Murphy’s eyes. “AAAAH!” He leapt back, only now seeing the Clown clinging to the front of the device. “Zach, what’re you doing?!”

“I’m searching for the Ultimate Evil, whaddo you think I’m doing?” Zach replied. “Some believe that true evil exists deep inside yourself. That’s why I’m looking through these binoculars the inverse way!”

“Can you just let go so I can look through the-”

“Staring time is over, Mason, let’s jump ship to Autumn Mountain!” Sheila grabbed Mason’s hand and, “Geronimooooooo!” Jumped off the edge of the tower. They fell the four floors to the mountaintop as Sheila spun her tail and stopped their fall just in time. With that, they ran to the sky tram as Sheila requested, “Oi, two tickets for the sky thingy please!” to the Toad guard.

“Coming right up, Ma’am! Though might I advise not jumping off of high altitudes like that again.”

The friends enjoyed a comforting ride across the valley, Sheila lying on the cushy seat to relax her back. “Heh, I thought you liked to travel on foot.” Mason remarked.

“Bein’ on me back now and then ain’t bad either. You promise there ain’t anything interesting down there, right?”

“As far as the brochure says. Yep, this is a nice breather.” Mason lied on his seat as well. “I’ve really been having fun on this vacation, Sheila. You’re such a fun person to be around.”

“Even though I’m an idiot who messes things up?”

“C’mon, don’t say that. I mean, you gotta control yourself, but at the same time, I really like that impulsiveness of yours. Exploring these places wouldn’t be as fun without you.”

“Hehe, you butter me up too much sometimes, Mason! …Orright, time to get off! Let’s see Autumn Mountain!”

Autumn Mountain, true to its name, was lush with the colors of autumn. Orange grass with drifting red, yellow, or orange leaves. A river coursed peacefully through the valley, and aside from the leaves falling in it, it was incredibly fresh and clear. There were rowboats stacked up on the shore of a pond, with one tied at a dock where Asian-clothed Toads seemed to work. “Ahh. Greetings, travelers.” A Toad bowed, speaking with an Asian accent. “Welcome to Autumn Mountain. Would you like to ride our boat?”

“In a little bit, eh? We only just got here!”

“Of course. Would you like to try our canned tuna? It is an Autumn Mountain specialty.” The Toad directed them to a pile of cans.

Sheila curiously went to collect one. “Well, this’ll be a change. Got a can opener?”

“There is a fellow across the tall grass that may be of service to you.”

Mason and Sheila saw the field of tall, golden grass. Their heads barely reached above it as they trekked through the grass, seeing a Sombrero Guy, a Bone Goomba, and a Spike sitting around a tree stump with a tuna can. “Shy oh my, shy oh my~” sang the Shy Guy with a strum of his guitar. “Are we ready for today’s canned-food par-tay?”

“Oi, what’s goin’ on over here?” Sheila asked.

“Shy oh my! We have guests! Have you brought canned-food to our canned-food par-tay?”

“Uh…sure?” Mason questioned. “We were told you can open this for us.”

“Yah. Me open. Set on stump.” said the Boneba. Sheila placed the can on the stump, and the Goomba munched along the edge with his boney teeth. The can opened.

“Cool!” Sheila beamed, biting some tuna out. “Hey, it’s not bad! Try it, Mason!”

The boy ate a bite out. “Mmm! That’s better than I expected!”

“Was it past this grass?” Cheren asked, walking out of the grass with his eyes on his map. “Oh? Hey, there you guys are.”

“WHERE’D YOU COME FROM?!” Mason exclaimed.

“I’m trying to find the way out of this forest, duh!”

“You realize we’re not in the same forest, right? The Whispering Woods are, like, MILES away!”

“Really? Man, I really did get lost.”

“Then let’s get lost together, mate!” Sheila gripped Cheren’s arm. “There’s still plenty to see!”

They crossed the grass once more, arriving at a cliff. Across the other side appeared to be a temple with a crisp pond around it, Cheep Cheeps jumping about carefreely. The crew saw a bridge on the east side of the grass, so they maneuvered through once more to reach said bridge. There was a sign that read, _CAUTION: Do not jump on bridge._

“I gotta jump on it, mate!” Sheila began jumping along each board, the bridge swaying and flapping like ripples on water.

“Sheila, don’t!” Mason tried to follow, but became unbalanced on the wavy bridge. “Waaaah! Aaaahh! AAAAAaaahhh…” Both fell over the sides into the forest below.

The leaves served to break their fall as they crashed on the base of a cliff. “Hee hee hee! That was totally worth it!” Sheila beamed.

“You really can’t make an excuse for that.” Mason remarked. “Sigh…according to the map, this is Chestnut Valley. We can get out if we head up this—whoa!” He jumped aside when a large, spiked chestnut rolled past.

“Hey, brats! This is OUR turf!” They looked up and spotted a Goomba alongside some chestnut-looking Goombas, known as Galoombas. “If you comin’ here to get our chestnuts, well you’re gonna get it!” The Goombas began rolling more spiked nuts down the hill. Sheila raced up, dodging the spikes and shooting Light Spheres at the Goombas. They cowered and ran, allowing Mason to catch up to his captain.

“This is the third time we fell into a forest this adventure.” Mason remarked, remembering both Prism Island and Steam Gardens. “How are we just… Wait, where’s Cheren?!”

“I don’t think he fell with us!” Sheila replied as they kept racing up the path, shattering several chestnuts with her bending. “Maybe he didn’t get on the bridge.”

“We’ll just have to reunite up top. Huh?” The duo came upon a field of spiked chestnuts, which seemed to form a sort of labyrinth.

“Well, I’m already bored.” Sheila said simply.

In the next moment, the chestnuts were utterly destroyed by her lightbending, and the Galoombas waiting in ambush in the maze ended up plummeting down the cliff. After trekking up a few more paths, the duo exited the valley. There was a locked wooden gate, but Sheila easily punched it open, welcoming the sight of the bridge they had fallen from, as well as… “Emily?” Mason raised a brow at seeing the spectacled scientist.

“Wah! Mason, Sheila!” Emily flinched. “Huhu, you got here already, huh?”

“Yeah, so did you. We just saw you back on Picnic Road.”

“Oh…you did?”

“Oi, did you see Cheren walk by here?” Sheila asked.

“Not really. I didn’t see anyone when I…I mean, that’s a secret!” She smiled cutely.

“What’re you playing at?” Mason asked with a glare.

“Huhu, you don’t need to know what I’m up to~. Anyway, maybe Cheren went to that temple up there.”

The trio progressed further up the path and crossed the arched bridges to the temple. There were two switches before the stone gate, but the gate opened just then as Melody Jackson stepped out. The news anchor panted through her proud smile and was remarkably drenched. “Phew! That Water Vellumental sure didn’t pull any punches.”

“Another one of them Vellumacallits?” Sheila asked.

“Silly Sheila!” Emily giggled. “The Vellumentals are the four elemental spirits of this country. You should’ve seen the Earth one on Picnic Road.”

“Eric was sure a big help.” Melody said. “He handled those puzzles like…?!” She turned around in panic. “WAIT, where did Eric go?! I coulda swore he was with me when we went over that crab pit…OH, CRAB!”

…

Eric was shuddering with a beating stick clutched in his hands, completely surrounded by large red and blue crabs. “Uh…any of you like 2D games?”

…

Melody rushed back into the temple. “’Guess I better help her.” Emily said.

“Have fun with that! Mason, let’s go for a river ride!” Sheila cheered, returning the opposite way.

“Sigh, we’ll see you later, Em.”

The duo returned to the pond as Sheila said to the sculler, “Orright, give us a boat ride, Mac!”

“Very well, Miss. But my name is not Mac, it is Row T. Boat.”

“Are we about to be treated to a song?” Mason asked.

“It is highly optional.”

Mason and Sheila sat patiently as the boat steadily drifted along the Eddy River. The duo dipped their feet in the water, the gentle current soothing their soles after their long journey. The crisp autumn air eased their hearts and minds, and they were about ready to drift into a nap. They trusted the river and the sculler to safely carry them-

“Brace yourselves, kids, we’re crossing the rapids!” Row T. yelled.

“Whooooaaa!” The river picked up speed, the sculler rowing left and right to evade logs, boulders, and swirling whirlpools. Mason and Sheila clutched the edge tightly as the boat swayed violently. They came upon a huge whirlpool, but the sculler steered them tightly around the edge, successfully bypassing the maelstrom. “Gee, and people casually tour this place?!” Mason yelled.

“Do not worry! We have not had an accident in six months.”

“THAT’S NOT REASSURING!”

“Then rest assured that the worst is over. We have arrived at our destination!”

_Landmark: SHOGUN STUDIOS_

The boated docked near a Feudal Japanese-style town, a shogun’s palace towering in the distance and ecstatic cultural music playing. With eager smiles, Mason and Sheila raced up to the park’s entrance. “Welcome to Shogun Studios!” greeted the Ninji guard, a short, star-shaped creature with exposed eyes on white skin, under a black suit. “To enter the park, visitors must either purchase a Commoner Pass or Royalty Pass.”

“What’s the difference?” Mason asked.

“A Commoner Pass costs 2,400 coins and is good for a party of three, but you can only use it to enter the park once, and you will have to buy a new one on future visits. However, for the price of 9,800 coins, you can buy the Royalty Pass, for unlimited use and infinite guests.”

“I think we’ll just buy the Commoner Pass just to be on the safe-”

“ROYALTY PASS, please!” Sheila cheered. “I’m as royal as pirates get!”

“Sheila!!”

“Wait a moment… you two wouldn’t happen to be Earth KND operatives, would you?” asked the Ninji.

“Yeah, we are.”

“Ah! Someone already purchased a Royalty Pass in the KND’s name, one Carol Masterson. She specifically mentioned you two would be buying it.” The Ninji handed them a card with a crown on it.

“Ah! Well, I guess we’re set, Sheila!”

“And she wanted me to inform you that this will increase your-”

“Increase our debt, yeah we figured, let’s go!”

Once Sheila scanned the Royalty Pass, a speaker said, _“Make way, royalty coming through!”_ Confetti rained onto them as the gate opened. Mason and Sheila were in awe as they took in the cultural aesthetics: there were Dry Bones juggling bones, Koopas, Goombas, and Toads in Japanese attire, and all the wood buildings were built in the classic Japanese style.

“Konnichiwa, O-Sheila, Masonosuke!”

The group turned to a familiar, freckle-faced girl, her puffy blonde hair in a single bun, a green yukata with dollar signs, and socked sandals. “Carol!” Mason beamed. “Hehe, thanks for buying that pass for us!”

“Always a pleasure, Masey.” Carol twirled over to his side. “After all, I was itching for you to see me in this outfit. Don’t I look cute? You know you want to dance with me~”

“Fine, but just for a little bit.”

“GOOD!” Carol yanked him off.

“Waaaah!”

Carol brought Mason before the juggling Dry Bones, leading him in a traditional dance. Mason confusedly tried to follow along with her movements, but couldn’t help but smile at Carol’s ecstatic, cheerful style. He had to admit, she was pretty cute in her yukata, and even though he wasn’t in love with Carol, she was another fun person to be around. On rare occasions he wanted a break from Sheila, Carol was his go-to. And it’s not like Sheila really got jealous when… “Wait, where did Sheila go?”

“I saw her wander off.” Carol answered. “C’mon, Masey, focus on me for once!”

“Okay, but it wouldn’t be just once!”

Sheila entered the Shuriken Dojo and saw Kirie Beatles swiftly and expertly tossing the bladed fans into targets. She had scored over a hundred points and seemed to be a natural at the game. Regardless, Sheila exited the dojo and continued exploring the park. The large shogun palace appeared to be a theater house called Big Sho’ Theater, and they were advertising a fireworks show scheduled to take place tonight, with Kodama on the poster. There were kids playing catch with a Chain Chomp, using a bone. Sheila spotted another large building attraction and decided to check it out.

_Landmark: HOUSE OF TRICKY NINJAS_

The front of the attraction had two doors, and both were closed. “Konnichiwa.” A Ninji greeted. “This is the House of Tricky Ninjas. You’ll have to wait a moment, one of our customers needs to finish.”

It didn’t take long before the left door opened, and Nagisa Shiota stepped out in his Sheikah clothes. “Haha! That was pretty fun! Oh, hi, Sheila! Hehe, I won me a prize!” He held up an action figure of a ninja Toad. “Check it out.” He squeezed the head, and the toy poofed and reappeared in the back of Sheila’s shirt. “Whoops, sorry!”

“You are now free to try the attraction, Miss.” The right door opened.

“Haha! Wait’ll Mason sees me as a Ninja Master!” She excitedly jogged in.

“Uh…do I get my toy back?” Nagisa asked.

The inside of the Ninja House felt rather quiet, cutting off the jovial music outside. The first room was small, but when Sheila opened the sliding door- “Hoh!” a cardboard Toad ninja revealed itself.

“Ah!” Sheila punched through the wall and shattered the ninja. Narrowing her eyes in alert, she stepped firmly, the footfalls of her sandals breaking the tense silence. Sheila entered a small living room with a sand table, two closets, a tall lantern, and a drawer. She opened the drawer- “Hoh!”

“Ah!” She smashed the drawers when the ninja poked out. She opened a closet- “Hoh!” and reactively punched through the wall and ninja. She kicked the sand table- “Hoh!” and then smashed it afterward. She checked the lantern- “Hoh!” and crushed it in a sudden clap. She opened the other closet- “Hoh!” and smashed a cardboard ninja in again.

A Ninji emerged from behind a poster. “Miss, could you please stop breaking the-”

“AH!” Sheila PUNCHED the worker and knocked him out. “Blimey, this place is making me jumpy! But I ain’t afraid of no ninjas!” She passed through the poster bravely.

Sheila entered a wide, empty room. When she walked past certain tiles, they flipped over, revealing either cardboard Toads, which Sheila smashed, or Ninji guards. “Miss, we’re gonna have to ask you-” But they were swiftly KO’ed.

“Take THIS, you sneaky ninjas!” Sheila’s heart jumped each time a cutout popped out, earning another hole in the building. Bust, smash, break, crush, these sounds rang throughout the Ninja Attraction.

Sheila ran past an outdoor garden, glancing all directions suspiciously. There were no ninjas in sight, so she headed to the next area. Fortunately, she didn’t bother to check the smaller building in the garden, which had no visible entrance. …The secret door cracked open as the Toad workers peeped out. “Who let that monster in here?”

“I dunno, but just wait for her to go.”

Outside, Nagisa and the workers could hear the thrashing and Light Spheres flying through holes. As the exit door opened, a cloud of dust accompanied Sheila on her way out, her expression downtrodden. “Darn it, I think I missed a ninja. Can I try it again?”

“NOT UNTIL YOU PAY FOR EVERYTHING YOU BROKE!” yelled an injured Ninji behind her. “Wait, is that a Royalty Pass? Darn it, that means you don’t have to pay for anything.”

“The Royalty Pass feels overpowered!!” Nagisa shouted.

Sheila walked by a swampy pond where Ninja were submerged, using bamboo straws to breathe. One of them was choking on water, for they were using a normal drinking straw. “What in blazes is this?” Sheila asked. Emily Garley was about to walk out of the nearby building, but upon spotting Sheila, she retreated.

“Hey, Sheila.” Mason greeted. “Heh, Carol sure got into the dance. Where did you go?”

“I busted some ninjas! Anyhoo, I think I saw all I wanted for now. Let’s head to someplace else!”

“Well, we can always come back. Let’s head back to the river then!”

The duo exited the park and returned to Row T. Boat, riding it along the river. It cut through town and went under an arched bridge, sailing steadily to the west. They were leaving the colors of autumn and the cultural style of Shogun Studios, entering a mildly hot canyon. The boat docked by a road near the river’s end. “This is Sweetpaper Valley. If you pass through here, you will arrive at Sandpaper Desert.”

“’Guess we’re just transitioning from autumn to summer.” Mason joked. “But how will you get back upriver?”

“Do not worry. I am a master sculler. Enjoy your travels, children.” When the duo stepped off, they watched as the sculler rapidly rowed, twisted the boat around, and rowed against the current with terrific force and speed.

“He’s even going up the rapids that way? Dang, that’s quite a workout.”

There was nothing to disturb the traveling teens as they turned many corners of the canyon path. The road led them directly into a dark cave with a broken minecart track. Near the entrance, there appeared to be a gravestone shaped like a bomb, with flowers planted, the only notable plant life in this area.

They were cautious as they entered the cave, careful not to trip on the tracks. It was unpleasant for Sheila to be cut off from the sun, but there were lanterns within the mine. This appeared to be a settlement for Monty Moles, some of whom were trading gems and minerals. There was a Monty talking with a human girl named Tressa. “Make no mistake, this is the legendary, lost sixth Shell Stone of the Earth Vellumental Temple!” the Monty boasted, adverting an orb with a pink design. “Who knows why the Vellumental abandoned it, or why he hid it out here? Perhaps you can study it and learn the truth, for 10,000 coins!”

“Eh, it looks like part of the pink is chipped off. Let’s make it 5,000.” Tressa replied.

“F-FIVE thousand?! You don’t hold back, sweetheart. But if I dab a little paint on it, we can prob’ly bump it up to 7,000.”

“Oh, that’s one of Augustus’s new friends.” Mason recalled. “Wonder if he’s nearby…”

He and Sheila proceeded through the cave, finding a parking lot of giant boots and a Toad at a desk. “If you kids are going to the Sandpaper Desert, it’s best to travel in one of these boot cars. We’ll rent you one for free, but you’ll have to pay if you lose or break it.”

“Strewth!” Sheila jumped into a car. “I should be good at this! I drive me own sandals in my dreams! Hehe, me sandals are the best~”

Mason sported a smile and crammed into the boot with her. They jolted back when Sheila stepped on the gas pedal, having to turn left before hitting the wall. Once they got their bearings, Sheila cautiously drove them through the tunnel. “Orright! The autumn was great, but it’s time to warm up in some nice, desert sunlight!”

As soon as they exited the cave, the boot tires hitting the dark violet sand, the darkness of the desert night enveloped them. “HEY, what gives?! It’s flippin’ chilly, and it was just broad daylight!”

Mason read the brochure. “‘Sandpaper Desert is also known as the Desert of Black Sun. It is remarkable for existing under an indefinite eclipse during most days of the year.’” Indeed, they could see a black circle in the sky and faint rays of sun shimmering around it.

“Well, crikey, let’s find MaKayla and get her to change it to a sunny day!”

“Let’s just give it a shot, Sheila. It isn’t super cold, and I love the color!”

With stars around the eclipse, a relaxing ambience covered the dark desert. The boot traveled gracefully over the smooth, sandy hills. Pokeys and Dry Bones roamed the sands, but Sheila would run them over if they got in the way.

They spotted a secret path through a cliff wall and decided to drive in. This led to a hill within an enclosed canyon, leading to a dead end. “What’s that?” Mason asked, noticing a choco-brown door with a coffee symbol built into the cliff.

“I can go for a drink, mate!” Sheila hopped off the car and jogged up.

_Secret Landmark: SANDPAPER CAFÉ_

The inside of the café was small with three seats, but fairly ordinary with a pleasant vibe. The barista was a chubby, Sledge Bro Koopa. Sheila jumped and plopped rump-first on a stool. “Hehe, it smells great in here!”

“Yeah, it does!” Mason beamed, sitting beside her in a more reserved manner. “I love it when they put nice restaurants out in the wild like this.”

The droll-faced Sledge Bro raised a giant cup of coffee and plopped it right in front of Sheila. “Blimey, that was quick! Hehe, and what a big cup!”

“Oh…that isn’t for you, Miss.” replied the Koopa. “You’re sitting on my customer.”

“…?” It was then Sheila felt an itch on her seat. She got up and turned to examine the stool. “I don’t see anyone.”

“Uh…I do, Sheila.” Mason awkwardly pointed at Sheila’s rear. Reaching hesitantly, he gently grabbed the tiny Goomba in his fingers and picked him off. Sheila tensed up when she spotted him.

“Why don’t ya watch where you’re sitting?! Dumb tourists!”

“Eh heh…sorry, mate.” Sheila blushed. “I really have bad luck with Goombas.”

“I’ll bet you do.” The Goomba bounced onto the counter, while Sheila took the other free seat. With that, the tiny twisted a knob on a little faucet attached to the cup, allowing it to pour into his mouth.

“And what’ll you kids have?” asked the barista.

“I guess the Mega Tasty Coffee.” Mason read the menu.

“Same here!” Sheila cheered.

In the next moment, both kids were served a tiny cup of coffee each. “…” Sheila cocked a brow, raised the cup in her fingers, and dumped it onto her tongue. “WHOA, THAT’S GOOD! Haha, where has coffee been all my life, Mason, I’m on fire!”

“Coffee makes kids extremely hyper, and since you’re already like that, well…”

“I can’t even drive the boot like this! I’ll cross this desert on foot!” She zoomed out and burst through the door.

“Here’s the bill.” Sledge Bro placed the bill by Mason.

“Oh, gee.”

By the time Mason returned to the boot and drove out of the enclosed canyon, he had lost track of Sheila. However, after driving out to the main desert, he saw a cloud of dust being left by something fast. He sped to catch up to his speeding Faunus friend. “Sheila, at least let me catch up!”

“I got more energy than I know what to do wiiiiiith!”

Emily stepped up to the edge of a short cliff overlooking the desert. She gasped seeing Mason and Sheila and stepped back a bit. The duo bypassed a tall, stone tower with a Toad-headed top, then cut through a small canyon path before Sheila seemed to slow down. “Phew…that was a blast, mate! Whoa, what’re all them pretty lights?!” She pointed up at five colored spotlights shining around the distant sky.

“According to the map, that’s about where Snif City is.”

“Let’s check it out!” Sheila ran ahead first, Mason continuing to follow on the boot.


End file.
